Cancer treatment - preventing infection

When you have cancer, you may be at higher risk for infection. Some cancers and cancer treatments weaken your immune system. This makes it harder for your body to fight off germs such as viruses and bacteria. If you get an infection, it can quickly become serious and be hard to treat. In some cases, you may need to go to the hospital for treatment. So it is important to learn how to prevent and treat any infections before they spread.

As part of your immune system, your white blood cells help fight infection. White blood cells are made in your bone marrow. Some types of cancer, such as leukemia, and some treatments including bone marrow transplant and chemotherapy affect your bone marrow and immune system. This makes it harder for your body to make new white blood cells that can fight infection and increases your infection risk.

Your health care provider will check your white blood cell count during your treatment. When levels of certain white blood cells drop too low, it is called neutropenia. Often this is a short-lived and expected side effect of cancer treatment. Your provider may give you medicines to help prevent infection if this occurs. But, you should also take some precautions.

Other risk factors for infection in people with cancer include:

There are many things you can do to help prevent infection. Here are some tips:

It is important to know the symptoms of an infection so you can call your provider right away. They include:

Do not take acetaminophen, aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen, or any medicine that reduces a fever without first talking with your provider.

During or right after cancer treatment, call your provider right away if you have any of the signs of infection mentioned above. Getting an infection during cancer treatment is an emergency.

If you go to an urgent care clinic or emergency room, tell the staff right away that you have cancer. You shouldn't sit in the waiting room for a long time because you may catch an infection. Wear a mask when you have to be around people.

Freifeld AG, Kaul DR. Infection in the patient with cancer. In: Niederhuber JE, Armitage JO, Kastan MB, Doroshow JH, Tepper JE, eds. Abeloff's Clinical Oncology. 6th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2020:chap 34.

National Cancer Institute website. Chemotherapy and you: support for people with cancer. www.cancer.gov/publications/patient-education/chemotherapy-and-you.pdf. Updated September 2018. Accessed January 17, 2023.

National Cancer Institute website. Infection and neutropenia during cancer treatment. www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/side-effects/infection. Updated January 23, 2020. Accessed January 17, 2023.



Review Date: 10/25/2022
Reviewed By: Frank D. Brodkey, MD, FCCM, Associate Professor, Section of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI. Also reviewed by David C. Dugdale, MD, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.
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