Comparison of topical agents that are effective against oral mucositis associated with chemotherapy using a rat anticancer agent-induced oral mucositis model

Abstract

ObjectiveStandard prophylactic or therapeutic treatments for oral mucositis (OM), a common adverse event of chemotherapy, have not been established. Therefore, we compared the efficacy of several potential drugs administered topically in a rat anticancer agent-induced OM model (ROMM). MethodsTen-week-old, female Sprague–Dawley rats (n = 196) were used to develop the ROMM; they were divided into seven groups—CT, SAS, TA, RM, SF, PZ, and TJ-14, which received distilled water (control), sodium azulene sulfonate hydrate, tranexamic acid, rebamipide, sucralfate hydrate, polaprezinc, and hangeshashinto, respectively. Body weight, OM grade, histopathology score, and intraoral bacterial count were determined at 6, 9, 11, and 16 days after inducing OM. ResultsThe body weight of each rat temporarily reduced in all groups. Nevertheless, the TJ-14 group showed a higher body weight than the CT group (p < 0.05) on day 16. The mean OM grade and histopathology score improved with time in the CT group. On days 11 and 16, the OM grade and histopathology score were lower in all drug groups than in the CT group, with a significant difference in the TJ-14 group (p = 0.0281 and 0.0035, respectively). On day 11, the PZ and TJ-14 groups presented lower intraoral bacterial counts than the CT group. On day 16, the RM, SF, PZ, and TJ-14 groups presented lower bacterial counts than the CT group (p < 0.01). ConclusionTJ-14, followed by PZ, has the greatest efficacy against chemotherapy-induced OM. Therefore, TJ-14 mouthwash is a potential supportive treatment during chemotherapy.