The growing role of clinical and genomic databases in the development of antifungal strategies

Decisions about the prophylactic and empiric use of antifungal agents in immunosuppressed recipients of solid-organ transplants and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) call for up-to-date knowledge regarding which infections are most likely to develop in the populations at risk, but rapidly changing immunosuppressive regimens and the costs of large-scale clinical trials require new ways of gathering these data. Leveraging new clinical data from electronic databases to better understand the changing epidemiology of invasive fungal infection and the patterns of risk factors for adverse effects of antifungal treatment offers a major challenge and opportunity. Evidence-based integration of results generated from traditional prospective clinical trials, clinical and genomic databases, and laboratory-based investigations will enable us to maximize the potential benefits of antifungal agents and reduce their risks.