title: Polaprezinc reduces the severity of radiation-induced mucositis in head and neck cancer patients.
abstract: Polaprezinc (PZ), an antiulcer drug, has been reported to have antioxidant properties. The aim of the present study was to assess the feasibility and efficacy of administering PZ for radiation-induced mucositis in head and neck cancer patients. Patients with newly diagnosed head and neck cancer were enrolled in this prospective study. PZ was prepared as an oral rinse. The PZ oral rinse was used four times per day during the course of radiotherapy. Sequential changes in radiation mucositis were assessed during and after radiotherapy according to the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events, version 3.0. Furthermore, a retrospective comparison analysis was performed to assess the efficacy of PZ for radiation-induced mucositis. A total of 32 patients were enrolled in the prospective study of the PZ oral rinse. Radiotherapy was performed up to a total dose of 60-66 Gy using a conventional schedule combined with chemotherapy. Of the 32 patients, 30 (93.8%) reported no complaints due to the PZ oral rinse. In addition, PZ was not associated with severe adverse effects. Among the patients who received PZ, grade 3 mucositis was observed in 29.0% based on the mucosal findings and in 39.3% based on the symptoms. In the patients who did not receive PZ, the incidence of grade 3 mucositis was 40.0% based on the mucosal findings and 60.7% based on the symptoms. Moreover, PZ promoted the recovery from mucositis caused by chemoradiotherapy and was not associated with reduced tumor response to radiotherapy. Therefore, the PZ oral rinse was well tolerated and proved to be efficient for the treatment of radiotherapy-induced oral mucositis.
authors: Department of Radiology, Hyogo College of Medicine, The Hospital of Hyogo College of Medicine, Nishinomiya, Hyogo 663-8501, Japan.
authors: Hiroshi
authors: H
authors: Doi
authors: Department of Radiology, Hyogo College of Medicine, The Hospital of Hyogo College of Medicine, Nishinomiya, Hyogo 663-8501, Japan.
authors: Masayuki
authors: M
authors: Fujiwara
authors: Department of Radiology, Hyogo College of Medicine, The Hospital of Hyogo College of Medicine, Nishinomiya, Hyogo 663-8501, Japan.
authors: Hitomi
authors: H
authors: Suzuki
authors: Department of Radiology, Hyogo College of Medicine, The Hospital of Hyogo College of Medicine, Nishinomiya, Hyogo 663-8501, Japan.
authors: Yasue
authors: Y
authors: Niwa
authors: Department of Pharmacy, The Hospital of Hyogo College of Medicine, Nishinomiya, Hyogo 663-8501, Japan.
authors: Masahiro
authors: M
authors: Nakayama
authors: Department of Pharmacy, The Hospital of Hyogo College of Medicine, Nishinomiya, Hyogo 663-8501, Japan.
authors: Toshiyuki
authors: T
authors: Shikata
authors: Department of Radiology, Hyogo College of Medicine, The Hospital of Hyogo College of Medicine, Nishinomiya, Hyogo 663-8501, Japan.
authors: Soichi
authors: S
authors: Odawara
authors: Department of Radiology, Hyogo College of Medicine, The Hospital of Hyogo College of Medicine, Nishinomiya, Hyogo 663-8501, Japan.
authors: Yasuhiro
authors: Y
authors: Takada
authors: Department of Pharmacy, The Hospital of Hyogo College of Medicine, Nishinomiya, Hyogo 663-8501, Japan.
authors: Takeshi
authors: T
authors: Kimura
authors: Department of Radiology, Hyogo College of Medicine, The Hospital of Hyogo College of Medicine, Nishinomiya, Hyogo 663-8501, Japan.
authors: Norihiko
authors: N
authors: Kamikonya
authors: Department of Radiology, Hyogo College of Medicine, The Hospital of Hyogo College of Medicine, Nishinomiya, Hyogo 663-8501, Japan.
authors: Shozo
authors: S
authors: Hirota
keywords: head and neck cancer; mucositis; oral rinse; polaprezinc; radiotherapy