Oral mucositis in patients treated with chemotherapy for solid tumors: a retrospective analysis of 150 cases

Abstract

The incidence and the severity of chemotherapy-associated oral mucositis were determined in a retrospective analysis of 150 patients with various solid tumors. In addition, possible risk factors for the development of mucositis were identified. Patients were treated with chemotherapeutic regimens appropriate to tumor type and disease stage on an in- or outpatient basis. Mucositis was scored using the World Health Organization (WHO) criteria. Eighty-seven episodes of mucositis occurred in 47 (31%) patients. Twenty-six patients each experienced only one episode, whereas 21 patients had up to eight episodes of mucositis. The 1,281 chemotherapy cycles that have been analyzed included 87 cycles in which mucositis was observed. In 16 patients (11%) only slight oral mucosal changes were recorded (maximum WHO score 1), while 25 patients (17%) experienced mild to moderate mucositis (maximum WHO score 2), and in 6 patients (4%) mucositis was moderate to severe (maximum WHO score 3). No grade 4 mucositis developed. In 24 of the 47 patients with mucositis (51%) clinical features of acute pseudomembranous candidiasis were present. Leukopenia, leukopenic fever, and use of corticosteroids and central venous catheters were associated with the chemotherapy cycles with mucositis. Multivariate analysis identified the administration of paclitaxel, doxorubicin, or etoposide as independent risk factor (adjusted rate ratios 8.06, 7.35, and 6.70, respectively), whereas low body mass was associated with a slightly increased risk (adjusted rate ratio 0.92) for the development of mucositis. In conclusion, almost one-third of patients receiving chemotherapy for solid tumors experienced one or more episodes of mild to more severe oral mucositis, indicating that this is a frequent complication in such patients.

A Comparative Study to Assess the Effectiveness of Turmeric Mouth Wash versus Saline Mouth Wash on Treatment Induced Oral Mucositis (Tiom) in a Selected Hospital at Mangalore

“…The reason is that salt water is not only a natural disinfectant but it also removes any swelling from the tissue. Giving a mouth wash to the patients with a medicinal property like those of turmeric or normal saline can prove very economical and beneficial for the patient in terms of cure and relieve from symptoms and also in regards to its use in the future and preventing complications [21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28].…”

Expression of salivary biomarkers in patients with oral mucositis: evaluation by SELDI‐TOF/MS

“…It has been noticed that the risk of developing mucositis is higher in children than in adults (Cheng et al, 2001;Sonis and Fey, 2002). In subjects over 50 years old, the risk of developing severe and long-term mucositis is high because reduced renal excretion may alter the elimination of chemotherapeutic drugs (Raber-Durlacher et al, 2000).…”

Mucosite bucal rádio e quimioinduzida

“…Mouth lesions may become the entry point for the dissemination of bacterial, fungal and virotic infection, 2,8,30,31 particularly in patients undergoing myelosuppressive or immunosuppressive chemotherapy regimens for the treatment of cancer. In many medical centers, cancer patients undergoing high-dose chemotherapy usually receive antibiotics and antifungal medication preventively or during the periods of druginduced leukopenia.…”

“…4 Furthermore, secondary infection may result in severe systemic infection. 2,3,7,8,10,14,16,17,19,[30][31][32][33][34] Mucositis may lead to potentially fatal bacteremia in myelosuppressed patients. All of these conditions may obstruct further treatment or increase its cost, threatening the survival of patients or permanently changing their quality of life and that of their families.…”