Radiation-Induced Oral Mucositis In Egyptian Patients: Incidence And Associated Risk Factors

Abstract

Background:
Radiotherapy (RT) in head and neck cancer patients (HNC) can frequently and severely result in oral mucositis (OM) can lead to many comorbidities such as discomfort, infection, despair, extended hospital stays, therapeutic delays, rise in patient morbidity, and higher expenses.

Aim:
To record the incidence of oral mucositis among head and neck cancer patients, investigate the connection between risk factors and the occurrence of oral mucositis and side effect of RT reported by patients. 

Methods:

The cohort study included 99 patients who had radiation for HNC. Gender, concomitant chemotherapy, history of smoking, and primary site of tumor were recorded for every patient, the patients were followed from the beginning of radiation to the end of radiation, and the occurrence of OM was assessed by using the WHO scale. Also, the association between the incidence and recorded risk factors was assessed.

Results:
The occurrence of oral mucositis was 37.4% among patients, Analysis revealed significant associations between tumor sites and incidence of oral mucositis, where most of the oral mucositis cases occurred in patients with oral tumors while no cases of mucositis occurred in patients with brain tumors (p<0.001), In addition, there was a significant association between the incidence of oral mucositis and concomitant chemotherapy (P<0.0001). Other factors showed no statistically significant association with the incidence of oral mucositis (p>0.05).

Conclusions:
The current study showed that certain factors may increase the risk of oral mucositis in patients receiving radiotherapy for HNC, Patients with OM are more likely to experience unanticipated radiation therapy breaks and entail hospitalization. Thus, in high-risk patients a preventive plan for oral mucositis needs to be recognized in the future before the beginning of radiotherapy.