Supportive Management of Mucositis and Metabolic Derangements in Head and Neck Cancer Patients
Oral mucositis (OM) is among the most undesirable, painful, and expensive toxicities of cytotoxic cancer therapy, and is disheartening for patients and frustrating for caregivers. Accurate assessment of the incidence of OM has been elusive, but accumulating data suggests that reported OM frequency i...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2015-09-01
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| Series: | Cancers |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.mdpi.com/2072-6694/7/3/0862 |
| _version_ | 1797708108600967168 |
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| author | Marcelo Bonomi Katharine Batt |
| author_facet | Marcelo Bonomi Katharine Batt |
| author_sort | Marcelo Bonomi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Oral mucositis (OM) is among the most undesirable, painful, and expensive toxicities of cytotoxic cancer therapy, and is disheartening for patients and frustrating for caregivers. Accurate assessment of the incidence of OM has been elusive, but accumulating data suggests that reported OM frequency is significantly less than its actual occurrence. It has been suggested that over 90% of head and neck cancer (HNC) patients receiving radiotherapy (RT) with concurrent cisplatin experience severe OM with symptoms of extreme pain, mucosal ulceration and consequent limitations in swallowing and achieving adequate nutritional intake. This panoply of symptoms inevitably impacts a patients’ quality of life and their willingness to continue treatment. In spite of all the advances made in understanding the pathophysiology of OM, there is still no prophylactic therapy with proven efficacy. Strategies to limit the extent of OM and to manage its symptomatology include basic oral care, supportive medications, nutritional support and targeting aggressive treatments to high-risk patients. This review focuses on OM recognition, preventive measurements, and symptom-management strategies. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T06:17:30Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-306fc5752a98411fb1443de9373e189d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-6694 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T06:17:30Z |
| publishDate | 2015-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Cancers |
| spelling | doaj.art-306fc5752a98411fb1443de9373e189d2023-09-03T02:27:47ZengMDPI AGCancers2072-66942015-09-01731743175710.3390/cancers7030862cancers7030862Supportive Management of Mucositis and Metabolic Derangements in Head and Neck Cancer PatientsMarcelo Bonomi0Katharine Batt1Section of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Medical CenterBoulevard, Winston-Salem, NC 27157, USASection of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Medical CenterBoulevard, Winston-Salem, NC 27157, USAOral mucositis (OM) is among the most undesirable, painful, and expensive toxicities of cytotoxic cancer therapy, and is disheartening for patients and frustrating for caregivers. Accurate assessment of the incidence of OM has been elusive, but accumulating data suggests that reported OM frequency is significantly less than its actual occurrence. It has been suggested that over 90% of head and neck cancer (HNC) patients receiving radiotherapy (RT) with concurrent cisplatin experience severe OM with symptoms of extreme pain, mucosal ulceration and consequent limitations in swallowing and achieving adequate nutritional intake. This panoply of symptoms inevitably impacts a patients’ quality of life and their willingness to continue treatment. In spite of all the advances made in understanding the pathophysiology of OM, there is still no prophylactic therapy with proven efficacy. Strategies to limit the extent of OM and to manage its symptomatology include basic oral care, supportive medications, nutritional support and targeting aggressive treatments to high-risk patients. This review focuses on OM recognition, preventive measurements, and symptom-management strategies.http://www.mdpi.com/2072-6694/7/3/0862mucositishead and neck cancerchemotherapy and radiationpainnutrition |
| spellingShingle | Marcelo Bonomi Katharine Batt Supportive Management of Mucositis and Metabolic Derangements in Head and Neck Cancer Patients Cancers mucositis head and neck cancer chemotherapy and radiation pain nutrition |
| title | Supportive Management of Mucositis and Metabolic Derangements in Head and Neck Cancer Patients |
| title_full | Supportive Management of Mucositis and Metabolic Derangements in Head and Neck Cancer Patients |
| title_fullStr | Supportive Management of Mucositis and Metabolic Derangements in Head and Neck Cancer Patients |
| title_full_unstemmed | Supportive Management of Mucositis and Metabolic Derangements in Head and Neck Cancer Patients |
| title_short | Supportive Management of Mucositis and Metabolic Derangements in Head and Neck Cancer Patients |
| title_sort | supportive management of mucositis and metabolic derangements in head and neck cancer patients |
| topic | mucositis head and neck cancer chemotherapy and radiation pain nutrition |
| url | http://www.mdpi.com/2072-6694/7/3/0862 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT marcelobonomi supportivemanagementofmucositisandmetabolicderangementsinheadandneckcancerpatients AT katharinebatt supportivemanagementofmucositisandmetabolicderangementsinheadandneckcancerpatients |