Abstract

CONTEMPORARY UPDATES ON ORAL MUCOSITIS

Dr. Saraswathi K. Gopal* and Dr. Sindhuja N.

ABSTRACT

Head and neck cancer, principally squamous cell carcinomas, is one of the main oncological problems due to its high mortality rate as well as the after-effects of the treatment. It makes up 4-5% of all cancers.[1] Antineoplastic therapy has been witnessing continuous improvement in terms of overall survival rates and progression free survival; nevertheless, it is still accompanied by a cluster of side effects affecting the quality of life (QoL).[2] Oral mucositis (OM) is one of the most prominent side effects of cancer treatment and is believed to have a significant impact on the quality of life (QoL) of the affected patients.[3] It is characterized by the presence of erythema and edema of the oral and oropharyngeal mucosa culminating in ulcerative erosive lesions 3–5 days or 7–10 days from the initiation of chemotherapy (CT) or radiotherapy (RT) respectively.[4,5] Mucositis represents a clinical continuum: although some patients have mucositis limited to patches of mildly sore erythematous mucosae, in other patients diffuse areas of painful ulceration and pseudo membranes appearance had been evident. The variability in the severity of mucositis is one reason there has been undermined attention of its prevalence in cancer patients and also in its management.

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