Effect of antitumor therapy on microflora and oral mucosa in patients with malignant neoplasms

Abstract

The presented article is devoted to the problem of the relationship between the microflora of the oral cavity and oral mucositis (OM) induced by systemic antitumor therapy in patients with malignant neoplasms (ZNO). The article highlights modern ideas about the composition of the normal microbiota of the oral cavity, its changes during chemotherapeutic treatment.
 It has been shown that the normal oral microbiota includes representatives of such genera as Actinomyces, Corynebacterium, Fusobacterium, Leptotrichia, Neisseria, Prevotella, Streptococcus, Veillonella, etc. At the same time, it is emphasized that, even despite the existence of modern molecular genetic techniques and the formation of a database of oral microbiota, it is still difficult to determine the role of individual taxonomic units in oral homeostasis.
 Existing studies of changes in the qualitative and quantitative composition of oral microflora against the background of drug antitumor therapy have demonstrated that treatment is associated with significant changes in the microbiological landscape of the oral cavity. There is an increase in the number of Gram-negative anaerobic opportunistic flora and a decrease in the representation of protective commensal flora. It has been demonstrated that the components of a bacterial cell can modulate local reactions of a macroorganism through a system of Toll-like receptors, while acting in different directions.
 A number of unresolved fundamental issues related to the place of oral microbiota in the pathogenesis of OM are also highlighted.