Worthington, H.V., Clarkson, J.E., Bryan, G., Furness, S., Glenny, A.M., Littlewood, A., … Khalid, T. (2011). Interventions for preventing oral mucositis for patients with cancer receiving treatment. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (Online), 4(4), CD000978.
To evaluate the evidence for prophylactic agents in management of oral mucositis in patients with cancer receiving treatment
Databases searched were MEDLINE, CANCERLIT, Embase, CINAHL, Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature (LILACS), System for Information on Grey Literature in Europe (SIGLE), and the Cochrane Database.
An extensive list of search terms and strategies used per database was provided in the article.
Studies were included in the review if they
A total of 383 references were retrieved. Risk of bias was evaluated according to the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions. Studies were categorized as low, unclear, or high risk of bias. Studies were labeled using the GRADES system for evaluating quality of evidence.
Findings support the benefits of cryotherapy and keratinocyte growth factor. The low quality of evidence in most of the other interventions points to the need for ongoing, well-designed research in this area. The presentation of findings in many publications made meta-analysis impossible.
The rationale for the authors' summaries of findings was not entirely clear. Similar RR ratio results with similar evidence quality levels were identified differently in terms of potential benefit. Although the review was inclusive and extensive, interpretation of results was inconsistent. High heterogeneity existed in most interventions, and most studies were either at high or unclear risk of bias with low GRADES scoring. Studies did not always differentiate between mucositis and candidiasis, which would affect recommendations.
This article suggests strong support for use of cryotherapy and keratinocyte growth factor for mucositis prevention. It suggests possible benefit from aloe vera, amifostine, IV glutamine, G-CSF, honey, laser, and antibiotic lozenges. Sucralfate may reduce the severity of mucositis. These findings should be interpreted with caution, given the relatively low quality of overall evidence and high heterogeneity across studies included in meta-analysis, as well as the fact that treatments and sample characteristics were highly varied.