Spectrum and outcome of microbiologically documented listeria monocytogenes infections in cancer patients.

At the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center (Houston), Listeria monocytogenes was cultured from 14 patients between 1980 and 1987. The case records of 11 of these patients were reviewed. Underlying malignancies included acute leukemia (three), lymphoma (two), myeloma (one), adenocarcinoma of colon (two), carcinoma of breast (one), carcinoma of lung (one), and Kaposi's sarcoma associated with the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (one). Listeria monocytogenes was cultured from blood (eight patients), cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) (two patients), and from both blood and CSF in one patient. All patients were receiving immunosuppressive therapy including corticosteroids in seven. An absolute neutrophil count of less than 1000/mm3 was noted in five. Bacteremia was the predominant type of infection and ten patients responded to antimicrobial therapy.