Novel strategies for the prevention and treatment of Candida infections: the potential of immunotherapy

Infections caused by Candida spp. continue to be a substantial cause of disease burden, especially in immunocompromised patients. New approaches are needed to improve the outcome of patients suffering from Candida infections, because it seems unlikely that the established standard treatment will drastically lower the morbidity of mucocutaneous Candida infections and the high mortality associated with invasive candidiasis. New insights into the mechanisms of the anti-Candida host response have contributed to the design of novel immunotherapeutic approaches that have been proposed as adjuvant therapy in Candida infections. This review presents an overview of novel strategies in the prevention and treatment of Candida infections, with a special focus on adjuvant immunotherapy.