Lethal Disseminated Mucorales Infection With Positive Blood Cultures With Purpura Fulminans Complicating Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis After Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-Cell Therapy

Takahiro Matsuo; Sebastian Wurster; Doina Ivan; Rachel Hicklen; Kelly McConn; Kelli A Bagwell; Fareed Khawaja; Roy F Chemaly; Dimitrios P Kontoyiannis

doi:10.1093/ofid/ofae647

Lethal Disseminated Mucorales Infection With Positive Blood Cultures With Purpura Fulminans Complicating Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis After Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-Cell Therapy

Open Forum Infect Dis. 2024 Oct 29;11(11):ofae647. doi: 10.1093/ofid/ofae647. eCollection 2024 Nov.

Authors

Takahiro Matsuo¹, Sebastian Wurster¹, Doina Ivan², Rachel Hicklen³, Kelly McConn¹, Kelli A Bagwell¹, Fareed Khawaja¹, Roy F Chemaly¹, Dimitrios P Kontoyiannis¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Infectious Diseases, Infection Control and Employee Health, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA.
² Department of Pathology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA.
³ Research Medical Library, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA.

Abstract

We report a case of fulminant Mucorales fungemia in a heavily immunosuppressed cancer patient with hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis following CD70-targeted chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy. Although rare, Mucorales can cause true fungemia in a broad spectrum of hosts, with a range of manifestations from isolated fungemia to fungemia being part of widely disseminated, high-burden infection.

Keywords: CAR T-cell therapy; Mucor species; fungemia; hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis.

Publication types

Case Reports
Retracted Publication