Head and neck cancer (HNC) is a broad term, including epithelial malignancies that occur in the paranasal sinuses, nasal cavity, oral cavity, pharynx, and larynx. Almost all these malignancies are head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).
HNSCC is the sixth most common cancer worldwide, with 890,000 new cases and 450,000 deaths in 2018. The principal modalities of curative therapy for locally or locoregionally confined HNSCC are resection, radiation and systemic therapy. Treatment planning should aim for the most highly curative approach, while optimizing preservation of function
Head and neck cancers (HNC) are often treated with radiation therapy (RT), a technique that utilizes ionizing radiation and exerts therapeutic effect by semi-selectively damaging the genetic material of vulnerable malignant cells, either directly or through the production of free radicals, resulting in cell death.
Radiation-induced oral mucositis (RIOM) is one of the major ionizing radiation toxicities and normal tissue injuries that result from radiotherapy. RIOM is a normal tissue injury lasting between 7 and 98 days, which starts as an acute inflammation of oral mucosa, tongue, and pharynx after RT exposure.
Oral mucositis is defined as inflammation of oral mucosa resulting from cancer therapy typically manifesting as atrophy, swelling, erythema and ulceration. The condition may be exacerbated by local factors, such as trauma from teeth, or microbial colonization. The term stomatitis refers to any inflammatory condition of oral tissue, including mucosa, dentition/periapices, and periodontium. Stomatitis thus defines a broader range of pathoses of oral tissues, including mucositis.
Treatment interruption may be required in patients who develop severe OM as further radiotherapy may lead to permanent loss of the stem cells and morbidity to treatment. But it should be noted that interruption of treatment is at the cost of reduced local control and may be compromised survival. Hence, it is important to have a balance of these factors when thinking of interrupting the treatment. It is also important that treatment is restarted at the earliest so that there is minimum gap in the treatment.
Currently, there is no definite efficient therapy for mucositis or its pain Multiple studies have been performed to propose preventive and therapeutic management. implementing proper oral hygiene measure ,removal of local irritants, and frequent rinsing with combination therapies are the current main supportive measure to mollify the severity of oral mucositis and reduce its attributed risk.
Numerous adjunctive treatments for the prevention of chemotherapy and radiotherapy -induced mucositis are now being studied such as the administration of honey, zinc, selenium, topical vitamin E, and glutamine .
Lalla RV recommend the use of benzydamine oral rinse for prevention of radiation induced OM in HNC patients treated with moderate doses of radiation therapy.
Aloe vera (named Aloe barbadensis in Latin), contains polysaccharides, anthraquinone, lectin, superoxide dismutase (an antioxidant enzyme), glycoprotein, amino acids, vitamins C and E and minerals. revealed the anti inflammatory, analgesic, liver protection, antiproliferative, anticarcinogenic and antiaging properties .
