Abstract

  Oral mucositis is painful inflammation of oral mucosa and one of the most common side effects of chemotherapy, radiotherapy and hematopoietic stem cells transplantation. As the damaged mucosa is very painful, it causes problems in oral intake of food and beverages. Oral mucositis significantly impairs patients’ quality of life and may affect the outcome of hematological malignancy treatment. This paper presents a review of published data on the pathogenesis, clinical picture, complications, and therapy and prevention of oral mucositis in patients treated for hematological malignancies. The most significant factor for the development of oral mucositis is the type and intensity of antineoplastic therapy and use of agents that damage oral mucosa. Best prophylaxis is implementation of professional oral hygiene measures and motivation of patients to maintain good individual oral hygiene and avoid harmful habits which damage oral mucosa, such as alcohol and smoking, at least during antineoplastic therapy.

Keywords: Oral Mucositis; Chemotherapy; Radiotherapy; Hematological Malignancies; Oral Hygiene

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Citation

Citation: Boris Aurer. “Oral Mucositis, a Side Effect of Hematological Malignancies Treatment". Acta Scientific Dental Sciences 5.1 (2020): 54-62.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2021 Boris Aurer. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.