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Examining tumor modulating effects of photobiomodulation therapy on head and neck squamous cell carcinomas

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Abstract

Photobiomodulation (PBM) therapy is an effective method for preventing and managing oral mucositis (OM) in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patients undergoing radiotherapy alone or in combination with chemotherapy. However, the potential effects of PBM therapy on premalignant and malignant cells eventually present in the treatment site are yet unknown. The aim of this systematic review was to analyze the effects of PBM therapy on HNSCC. A literature search was conducted in four indexed databases as follows: MEDLINE/PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Scopus. The databases were reviewed for papers published up to and including in October 2018. In vitro and in vivo studies that investigated the effects of PBM therapy on HNSCC were selected. From the 852 initially gathered studies, 15 met the inclusion criteria (13 in vitro and 2 in vivo). Only three in vitro studies were noted to have a low risk of bias. The included data demonstrated wide variations of study designs, PBM therapy protocols, and study outcomes. Cell proliferation and viability were the primary evaluation outcome in the in vitro studies. Of the 13 in vitro studies, seven noted a positive effect of PBM therapy on inhibiting or preventing an effect on HNSCC tumor cells, while six studies saw increased proliferation. One in vivo study reported increased oral SCC (OSCC) progression, while the other observed reduced tumor progression. Overall, the data from the studies included in the present systematic review do not support a clear conclusion about the effects of PBM therapy on HNSCC cells.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Oral Diagnosis Department, Piracicaba Dental School, University of Campinas, Piracicaba-SP, Brazil

    Felipe Martins Silveira, Mariana Pauli de Paglioni, Alan Roger Santos-Silva & Manoela Domingues Martins

  2. Department of Restorative Dentistry, School of Dentistry, University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo-SP, Brazil

    Márcia Martins Marques

  3. College of Dentistry, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA

    Cesar Augusto Migliorati

  4. Departments of Oral Biology and Biomedical Engineering, Schools of Dental Medicine, Engineering and Applied Sciences, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, USA

    Praveen Arany

  5. Department of Oral Pathology, School of Dentistry, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre-RS, Brazil

    Manoela Domingues Martins

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  1. Felipe Martins Silveira
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  2. Mariana Pauli de Paglioni
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  3. Márcia Martins Marques
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  4. Alan Roger Santos-Silva
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  5. Cesar Augusto Migliorati
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  6. Praveen Arany
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  7. Manoela Domingues Martins
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Correspondence to Manoela Domingues Martins.

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Silveira, F.M., de Paglioni, M.P., Marques, M.M. et al. Examining tumor modulating effects of photobiomodulation therapy on head and neck squamous cell carcinomas. Photochem Photobiol Sci 18, 1621–1637 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1039/c9pp00120d

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/c9pp00120d

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