The role of oral mucositis on the systemic inflammation parameter IL-8 in febrile neutropenic cancer patients.
OBJECTIVE
Cancer patients treated with cytostatic drugs often develop oral mucositis, considered to be a mucosal injury in which various cytokines, such as interleukin 8 (IL-8), may play a role. Plasma IL-8 is a systemic inflammatory response parameter. This study investigated whether oral mucositis affects plasma IL-8 levels in febrile neutropenic cancer patients.


METHODS
Patients (n = 57) who were hospitalized with chemotherapy-induced neutropenic fever were scored for oral mucositis on the second day of hospitalization according to a validated oral mucositis assessment scale (OMAS) and WHO toxicity grading. Patients (n = 20) with a clinical sepsis or local bacterial infection were excluded from this evaluation. The remaining 37 patients were divided in groups with and without oral mucositis.


RESULTS
The difference in plasma IL-8 level between patients with and without mucositis was not significant (P = 0.7). Similarly no difference was observed in the degree and duration of granulocytopenia.


CONCLUSIONS
These results indicate that low-grade oral mucositis is not related to the systemic plasma IL-8 level in febrile neutropenic cancer patients without a clinical sepsis or local bacterial infection.
Stokman
M A
MA
Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, University of Groningen and University Medical Center, Groningen, The Netherlands. m.a.stokman@kchir.umcg.nl
Oude Nijhuis
C S M
CS
Spijkervet
F K L
FK
de Bont
E S J M
ES
Dijkstra
P U
PU
Daenen
S M G J
SM
Gietema
J A
JA
van der Graaf
W T A
WT
Groen
H J M
HJ
Vellenga
E
E
Kamps
W A
WA
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005334:Fever / Q000097:blood* / Q000139:chemically induced; D006801:Humans; D018836:Inflammation Mediators / Q000097:blood*; D016209:Interleukin-8 / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology; D009503:Neutropenia / Q000097:blood* / Q000139:chemically induced; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013280:Stomatitis / Q000097:blood* / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000473:pathology
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; C508606:CXCL8 protein, human; D018836:Inflammation Mediators; D016209:Interleukin-8