Mucositis is the painful inflammation and ulceration of the mucous membranes lining the digestive tract, usually as an adverse effect of chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment for cancer.

Among patients undergoing head and neck radiotherapy, pain and decreased oral function may persist long after the conclusion of therapy.

[citation needed] As a result of cell death in reaction to chemo- or radio-therapy, the mucosal lining of the mouth becomes thin, may slough off and then become red, inflamed and ulcerated.

[citation needed] Dysgeusia, or an alteration in taste perception, is common, especially for those who are receiving concomitant radiation therapy to the neck and mouth area.

Ulcers may act as a site for local infection and a portal of entry for oral flora that, in some instances, may cause septicaemia (especially in immunosuppressed patients).

Therefore, oral mucositis can be a dose-limiting condition, disrupting a patient’s optimal cancer treatment plan and consequentially decreasing their chances of survival.

[5][6] The 5 stages are: Diagnosis is based on the symptoms the patient is experiencing and the appearance of the tissues of the mouth following chemotherapy, bone marrow transplants or radiotherapy.

Oral hygiene is the mainstay of treatment; patients are encouraged to clean their mouth every four hours and at bedtime, more often if the mucositis becomes worse.

[13] Palifermin is a human KGF (keratinocyte growth factor) that has shown to enhance epithelial cell proliferation, differentiation, and migration.

Caphosol is a mouth rinse which has been shown to prevent and treat oral mucositis caused by radiation and high-dose chemotherapy.

NeutraSal is an FDA-cleared calcium phosphate mouth rinse that has been shown in an open-label, observational registry trial to prevent and reduce the severity of oral mucositis caused by radiation and high-dose chemotherapy.

[15] In a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, single-dose study involving 38 head and neck cancer patients with oral mucositis (WHO grades 2-3) undergoing radiation therapy, episil clinically demonstrated fast-acting relief that lasted up to 8 hours.

In a 2012 randomized controlled pilot study involving pediatric patients, topical application of honey was found to reduce recovery time compared to benzocaine gel in grade 2 and 3 chemotherapy-induced oral mucositis to a degree that was statistically significant.

A recent phase 2 exploratory trial in oral mucositis reported that dusquetide,[19][20][21] a unique innate immune modulator with a mechanism that potentially addresses each of the phases of OM pathophysiology, is able to reduce the duration of severe oral mucositis, as well as reducing the incidence of infection