Abstract
Oral mucositis (OM) is a painful condition caused by chemotherapeutic or radiotherapeutic cancer treatments, occurring in patients with different tumour characteristics and locations. OM greatly impacts a patient’s quality of life and cancer recovery. Current OM management strategies are not providing sufficient prevention and treatment; new approaches to injury management are needed. Studies on the benefit of omega-3 free fatty acids (FFA) in human health have increased significantly in recent years. FFA properties have been studied extensively, including their potential therapeutic use in inflammatory conditions. However, omega-3 FFA’s use as a supplementary treatment for OM has not been clinically tested. Preliminary evidence suggests that utilising FFA to manage OM could be a useful strategy for lesion management, assisting with healthy oral mucosa recovery. This review will describe the incidence, risk factors, biology of OM and the current treatment strategies, leading to a discussion of the utility of omega-3 FFA as a novel therapeutic agent for OM.
Highlights
Oral mucositis (OM) is a severe form of acute inflammation and ulceration in the oral mucosa that can be induced by oncological therapy
The most severe and debilitating type of OM observed in cancer patients is caused by head and neck radiation therapy, where it manifests in almost all patients [6]
The PBM is recommended for the prevention and treatment of OM in patients receiving cancer treatments
Summary
Oral mucositis (OM) is a severe form of acute inflammation and ulceration in the oral mucosa that can be induced by oncological therapy. OM induces erythema and swelling in the oral mucosa, followed by generalised ulceration and bleeding that can spread further from the oral cavity to the digestive tract and that is capable of causing debilitating effects for patients with OM. Inflammation, compromised oral hygiene, an increased risk for local and systemic infections as well as impaired nutrition [1,2,3,4]. The. OM doubles the risk of systemic infections and quadruples the risk of death in cancer patients. Due the complicated pathobiology, those interventions are often not efficient and effective for all patients.
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