What is oral mucositis (stomatitis) in chemotherapy?
“I have cancer and receive chemotherapy. I have stomatitis, my mouth is painful, I cannot eat”. Professor Ourania Nicolatou-Galitis, oral oncologist and Dr Nikolaos Tsoukalas, medical oncologist were honored to serve editing the section of Oral Mucositis in Cancer as the Best Practice educational module for Oncologists. Drs Tsoukalas and Nicolatou-Galitis would like to gratefully acknowledge Dr Eleni Arvanitou, who contributed to the updating of this topic, and Dr Rajesh V. Lalla, a previous contributor.
Oral mucositis secondary to cancer therapy is an acute inflammation of the oral mucosa in response to systemic oncology therapy and/or radiation to fields involving the oral cavity.
The clinical presentation ranges from a general erythematous oral mucosa to ulceration. Lesions are often very painful, may compromise nutrition and oral hygiene, and can increase the risk of local and systemic infection.
Furthermore, severe oral mucositis may necessitate an undesirable dose-reduction and/or a break in cancer therapy. Therefore, mucositis is a highly significant complication of cancer therapy, with a potential impact on patient prognosis.
The authors, Drs Nikolaos Tsoukalas, Nicolatou-Galitis and Eleni Arvanitou are pleased to invite you to visit the website of BMJ Best Practice for Oral Mucositis and read all this important issue in cancer therapy.
