Second‐line treatment in invasive mould infections

A prevalence of up to 30% of invasive fungal infections (IFI) has been reported from autopsy studies in patients treated for haematological malignancies. Despite substantial advances in the last decade, IFI are still associated with a mortality of up to more than 70%, in particular for those patients suffering from invasive aspergillosis. Some progress has been made in diagnostics with the advent of new non‐culture based tools and the improvement of imaging techniques. However, the response rates are about 40–60% in the first‐line treatment of IFI. Salvage therapy will be necessary for those being intolerant or refractory towards the respective first‐line antifungal. Following a long period of stagnation, there has been a considerable progress during the last five years in the treatment of refractory IFI. This review highlights the new treatment options for the salvage setting in the context of the state‐of‐the‐art management of IFI in cancer patients.