Abstract
Oral mucositis is one of the most frequent complications after chemotherapy or radiotherapy or a combination of both. There is no standard therapy for its prevention or treatment. Considering that some bee products have been found to be of value in this situation, we decided to analyze the scientific literature on the subject. Scientific publications on bee products were identified by a literature search on Pubmed, Scopus and Google Scholar. There is a lot of evidence regarding the use of honey for oral mucositis due to chemotherapy or radiotherapy or a combination of both. Unfortunately, the quality of several meta-analyses on the topic is very low. There is some evidence on propolis, a little on royal jelly and none whatsoever on pollen and other bee products like apilarnil or bee venom. Bee products such as honey, propolis and royal jelly may be well suited to be integrated into a general concept for the prevention and treatment of oral mucositis which should also include other established concepts like oral care, oral cryotherapy, topical vitamin E and low-level-laser therapy. Bee products could become an integral part in the treatment of chemotherapy, radiotherapy and radio chemotherapy. High-quality meta-analyses and further studies, especially on the combinations of various strategies, are needed.
Highlights
Oral mucositis is one of the most common complications after chemotherapy or local radiotherapy or a combination of both
Low-level-laser therapy has proven its efficacy in a systematic review and meta-analysis [9] but oral cryotherapy is generally recommended, especially when patients receive 5-fluorouracil chemotherapy [4,10,11]
There is a systematic review on honey for the treatment of chemotherapy-induced mucositis in paediatric oncology patients [14]
Summary
Oral mucositis is one of the most common complications after chemotherapy or local radiotherapy (e.g., for head and neck cancer) or a combination of both. Oral mucositis results in erythema and the ulceration of the non-keratinized mucosa, causing significant pain, compromised nutrition, prolonged hospitalization and bloodstream infections Because of these symptoms, it can cause treatment delays and impact the delivery of optimal cancer treatment, affecting clinical remissions and the chances of a cure. Low-level-laser therapy has proven its efficacy in a systematic review and meta-analysis [9] but oral cryotherapy is generally recommended, especially when patients receive 5-fluorouracil chemotherapy [4,10,11]. The keratinocyte growth factor may be another interesting option for patients who are receiving either radiotherapy to the head and neck with cisplatin or fluorouracil or chemotherapy alone for mixed solid and hematological cancers [13]. This review is going to summarize the current evidence of those bee products
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