title: Severity of oral mucositis correlates with the response of oral cancer to preoperative radiochemotherapy.
abstract: Oral mucositis is a dose-limiting toxic effect of radiotherapy and chemotherapy on oral cancer. The purpose of the present study is to assess the relationship between tumor response and oral mucositis in preoperative radiochemotherapy for oral cancer retrospectively. Fifty-four cases of oral squamous cell carcinoma were treated with concurrent radiochemotherapy prior to surgery. When oral mucositis was evaluated with the WHO scale, severe oral mucositis (Grades 3 and 4) developed in 22 cases (41%). A more than 50% reduction in tumor size was clinically observed in 38 cases (70%). From histopathological analysis of the surgical specimens all tumor cells observed appeared to be non-viable in 16 cases (29%). The cases with Grade 1, Grade 2, Grade 3 and Grade 4 oral mucositis included 33%, 62%, 85% and 89% of clinical good-response cases and 0%, 24%, 31% and 55% of histopathological good-response cases, respectively. This retrospective study suggests that severe oral mucositis promises a good response of oral squamous cell carcinoma to radiochemotherapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Sensory and Motor Organ Sciences, Faculty of Medical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kumamoto University, 1-1-1 Honjyo, Kumamoto 860-8556, Japan. ikb@kaiju.medic.kumamoto-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ikebe
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Seki
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Takenoshita
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nakayama
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shinohara
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shirasuna
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000532:radiotherapy* / Q000601:surgery; D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant / Q000009:adverse effects; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009061:Mouth Mucosa / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000528:radiation effects*; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000532:radiotherapy* / Q000601:surgery; D011300:Preoperative Care; D011379:Prognosis; D018714:Radiotherapy, Adjuvant / Q000009:adverse effects; D012074:Remission Induction; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013280:Stomatitis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology