New approaches for the prevention and treatment of oral mucositis in children and adolescents with cancer: 2023 updat

Abstract

Introduction: Oral mucositis is a common and serious side effect of anticancer therapy that delays the start of treatment protocols, causes pain and significantly degrades young patients’ quality of life.
Purpose: Update of the methods for the prevention and treatment of oral mucositis in children and adolescents with cancer.
Methods: A review of the literature was conducted in Pubmed database from August 2023 to October 2023. 3518 articles were retrieved and finally 16 of them studied extensively, based on the inclusion criteria.
Results: The results of the studies reinforced the already positive recommendation for the low level laser treatment, the cryotherapy, the oral hygiene, the growth factors GM-CSF, the glutamine and the honey. At the same time new positive recommendations were added that related to the vitamin E, the chlorhexidine, the methotrexate with simultaneous hydration and administration of leucovorin, the olive oil, the aloe vera and the curcuma longa. On the contrary, the palifermin (growth factor) should not be used to the prevention of oral mucositis in children and adolescents with hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT).
Conclusions: More studies are needed to understand the pathophysiology of oral mucositis and to document the effectiveness of the tested methods that conduce to its prevention and treatment in children and adolescents with cancer.