Introduction: Oral Mucositis develops in nearly all patients receiving radiation therapy for head and neck cancers. Number of risk factors has been reported to influence the frequency and severity of Mucositis. The goal of the present study is to evaluate some of the patient and treatment related factors which make impact on oral mucositis and also to evaluate the impact of oral Mucositis on treatment outcome.
Material and Methods: Fifty patients were included in this study from July 2014 to June 2016. All the patients were treated with concurrent radiotherapy (70 Gy in 35 fractions in 7 weeks) and chemotherapy (Cisplatin 35 mg/m2 weekly). Clinical Response Assessment was done as per RTOG Grading and Radiation toxicity was assessed by RTOG Acute and Late Morbidity Scoring criteria. Statistical analysis was done using Chi Square test and Fischer Test.
Results: In a patient population of fifty, the intensity of oral Mucositis was correlated with various patient and treatment related factors. Patient related factors- body mass index ≤18.5 and patients taking tobacco had a higher incidence of Grade III/IV Mucositis (p less than 0.00 and p=0.04 respectively). Other factors like age, gender, stage, site of disease and co morbidities did not show statistical difference in Grade III/IV oral Mucositis. None of the treatment related factors- total dose of Cisplatin, number of chemotherapy cycles and radiation dose showed statistical difference in the occurrence of oral Mucositis.
Conclusion: Severe oral Mucositis leads to additional supportive care and even hospitalization. Targeted interventions need to be developed to reduce the incidence of oral Mucositis.
Polymorphism discovery in 62 DNA repair genes and haplotype associations with risks for lung and head and neck cancers