title: Effect of acyclovir on radiation- and chemotherapy-induced mouth lesions.
abstract: Several chemotherapeutic regimens and radiation therapy, if delivered to the oral mucosa, are associated with a high frequency of mouth lesions. The cause of this side effect is not known for certain, but in past studies it has sometimes been associated with the ability to culture herpes simplex virus type 1 from the mouth. In a double-blind prospective trial, patients with head and neck tumors treated with chemotherapy or radiation therapy were treated with either acyclovir or placebo. Although the frequency of culture-positive herpes simplex virus was low in the untreated group, it was significantly lower, zero, in the acyclovir-treated group. However, there were no differences in the frequency or type of mouth lesions experienced by patients receiving either radiation or chemotherapy who were taking acyclovir or placebo. These results suggest that herpes simplex virus is not a frequent cause or complication of oral lesions afflicting this patient population.
authors.affiliation: Charles A. Dana Research Institute, Harvard-Thorndike Laboratory of Beth Israel Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: G J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Bubley
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Chapman
authors.forename: S K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Chapman
authors.forename: C S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Crumpacker
authors.forename: L E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Schnipper
mesh_terms: D000212:Acyclovir / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D006801:Humans; D009061:Mouth Mucosa / Q000382:microbiology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011832:Radiation Injuries / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011897:Random Allocation; D013283:Stomatitis, Herpetic / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*
chemical_list: D000212:Acyclovir