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Oral Mucositis

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Contemporary Oral Oncology

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Abstract

Mucositis is defined as damage to the mucosa of the alimentary tract occurring as a result of chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy. Oral mucositis refers to mucosal damage restricted to the oral cavity and oropharynx. Oral mucositis often occurs with concurrent chemoradiation in the treatment of head and neck cancers. Patients report oral mucositis as the single most troublesome acute side effect of radiation therapy (RT) to the head and neck [1]. Similarly, some patients report their oral symptoms as the worst side effect of their chemotherapy [2]. Typically, oral mucositis is very painful. This pain impairs nutritional intake and quality of life and often requires opioid analgesics [3, 4]. Complications of oral mucositis cause patients to need hospitalization or breaks in treatment in up to 11 % of cases [5, 6]. Severe mucositis can almost double the supportive care costs of patients [7].

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Head and Neck Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY, USA

    Timothy B. Winslow & Brian Niedzwecki

  2. Radiation Medicine Department, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Elm & Carlton Streets, Buffalo, NY, 14263, USA

    Anurag K. Singh MD

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  1. Timothy B. Winslow
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  2. Brian Niedzwecki
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  3. Anurag K. Singh MD
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Correspondence to Anurag K. Singh MD .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Head and Neck Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, USA

    Moni Abraham Kuriakose

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Winslow, T.B., Niedzwecki, B., Singh, A.K. (2017). Oral Mucositis. In: Kuriakose, M.A. (eds) Contemporary Oral Oncology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-43857-3_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-43857-3_4

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