[Oral complications in patients with head and neck cancer after radio-chemotherapy. Mucositis and xerostomia].
Surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy are different therapeutical options for the management of the head and neck cancers. Their indication is strictly relate to some parameters (macro and microscopic characteristics of the tumor, the patient's general health and the remaining expectations of the life of the patients). Surgical treatment of the cancer, even if it represents the most radical approach and with the most therapeutical index, it always can't be practicable, since, often, it is associated to imposing aesthetical and functional alterations of the interested district. Chemotherapic agents are among the drugs with the lower therapeutical index, that are able to cause side effects, mainly due to the immunosuppression. About radiations, side effects could be indicates as immediates or acutes, and backward or chronic. Among the acute manifestations are enumerated: xerostomia, mucositis, bacterial infections, dysgeusia, dysphagia; among chronic forms: hyposalivation-xerostomia, caries, telangiectasis, infections, osteoradionecrosis, trismus, muscular fibrosis, necrosis of the soft tissues. Mucositis and xerostomia are the most common side effects, and they are a potential source of life-threatening infections. Few interventions are of proven efficacy to reducing severity and duration of mucositis, and there are no universally accepted treatment protocols, but research activity is increasing because of the upward recognition of the importance of mucositis, that need a complex and multidisciplinary clinical management.
Di Liberto
Chiara
C
Dipartimento di Scienze Stomatologiche G. Messina, Università, Palermo.
Caroprese
Marino
M
Pizzo
Giuseppe
G
Compilato
Domenico
D
Fulfaro
Fabio
F
Rinaldi
Tania
T
Lo Muzio
Lorenzo
L
Campisi
Giuseppina
G
D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D006801:Humans; D012307:Risk Factors; D013280:Stomatitis / Q000209:etiology*; D014987:Xerostomia / Q000209:etiology*