title: Mucosal secretion changes during radiotherapy in the oral cavity.
abstract: Mucositis in the oral cavity is a serious complication during radiation therapy for head and neck cancer, causing local discomfort and pain. In severe cases, hospitalization and interruption of radiotherapy may be necessary. The pathogenesis of this mucositis is not clear. With the purpose of getting more understanding of the pathogenesis of the mucositis, we examined the mucosal secretion from ten patients during radiotherapy with an imprint technique. In the secretion we studied the cellular composition and cellular function. In eight of ten treated patients the numbers of granulocytes increased in the secretion after 2 weeks of radiation therapy. The granulocytes, however, did not show any signs of phagocytosis. The patients all developed mucositis. We propose that the granulocytes in the secretion might play an important role in the development of mucositis during radiotherapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, 413 45, Göteborg, Sweden.
authors.forename: Luaay
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Aziz
authors.forename: Anders
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ebenfelt
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002452:Cell Count; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000473:pathology / Q000528:radiation effects; D006098:Granulocytes / Q000473:pathology / Q000528:radiation effects; D006801:Humans; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D008875:Middle Aged; D009061:Mouth Mucosa / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000528:radiation effects*; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D009959:Oropharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy; D010587:Phagocytosis / Q000528:radiation effects; D011832:Radiation Injuries / Q000209:etiology; D011878:Radiotherapy / Q000009:adverse effects; D011879:Radiotherapy Dosage; D013280:Stomatitis / Q000209:etiology