Lalla, R.V., Choquette, L.E., Curley, K.F., Dowsett, R.J., Feinn, R.S., Hegde, U.P., . . . Peterson, D.E. (2014). Randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial of celecoxib for oral mucositis in patients receiving radiation therapy for head and neck cancer. Oral Oncology, 50, 1098–1103.
To investigate the effects of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibition on the severity and morbidity or oral mucositis in patients with head and neck cancer undergoing radiation based on the role of inflammatory pathways in oral mucositis pathogenesis
Patients were randomized using a one-to-one ratio in blocks of 10 to receive either celecoxib or a placebo. The celecoxib and placebo capsules were identical. The first four patients took 200 mg of celecoxib twice per day beginning five days prior to the first day of radiation therapy and continuing for three days after the conclusion of radiation therapy. Dosing was modified for all subsequent patients to 200 mg of oral celecoxib once per day only on the days of radiation therapy from the first to the last day of therapy. Subsequent patients assigned to the control arm took the placebo once per day for the same duration. Data were collected two to three times per week for the six to seven weeks during which radiation occurred.
Prospective, randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, parallel-arm trial
There was no difference in oral mucositis severity between the celecoxib and placebo groups (p = .67).
The use of a COX-2 inhibitor during radiation in patients with head and neck cancer did not reduce the severity of clinical oral mucositis, mouth pain, dietary compromise, or use of opioid analgesics. This study’s power calculation seems to be weak. The dropout and missing data rate (usually 20%) should be added to satisfy the original power calculation. This increases the significant risk of type II error. Without a study with a larger sample size, this practice cannot be recommended.
This is not an effective option for treating radiation-induced mucositis.