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Review
. 1998 Aug:10 Suppl 1:S23-7.

New frontiers in the management of chemotherapy-induced mucositis

Affiliations
  • PMID: 9801855
Review

New frontiers in the management of chemotherapy-induced mucositis

F K Spijkervet et al. Curr Opin Oncol. 1998 Aug.

Abstract

About one-third of patients undergoing chemotherapy treatment suffer oral mucositis, an inflammatory-like change of the oral mucosa. Severe pseudomembranous/ulcerative mucositis can lead to secondary infection of lesions, sepsis and even cessation of treatment. Patients receiving curative head-neck irradiation are most susceptible and children undergoing chemotherapy are three times more likely to be affected. Mucositis is a costly side-effect of cancer therapy due to the extra time patients spend in hospital and currently there is no consistently effective treatment. Experimental studies with TGF-beta 3, a potent negative regulator of epithelial and haematopoietic stem cell growth, have shown that it is possible to temporarily arrest oral mucosal basal cell proliferation, and could therefore offer a new effective and safe form of preventative intervention for patients about to undergo aggressive regimens of cancer therapy.

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