Let’s Talk About… Mucositis

Mucositis, the inflammation of the mucosal cells in your mouth become red, inflammed, and very painful. It can be caused by several things, such a:

• Not caring for dentures properly (wearing ill-fitting ones or not taking them out often enough
• Medications that cause dry mouth and/or mucositis
• Xerostomia (dry mouth)
• Infections
• Malnutrition
• Certain illnesses
• Side effect of chemotherapy or radiotherapy

We’ve discussed dry mouth here before (Many Medications Cause Dry Mouth , Painful dry mouth from medications ) but mucositis is more than just dry mouth.

According to the article, Managing Oral Mucositis in Patients With Cancer,

This painful condition develops in approximately 40% of patients treated with standard chemotherapy, 30%-60% of patients receiving radiation therapy for cancer of the head and neck, 70% of patients who undergo bone marrow transplantation and receive high-dose chemotherapy, and over 90% of patients receiving concomitant chemotherapy and localized radiation.

That’s a large number of people who develop a condition that hasn’t been addressed too much in terms of research until recently. And, not only is mucositis painful, it comes at a high cost. People with mucositis often can’t eat “normal” meals and they may become dehydrated or malnourished, requiring additional care. They may need hospitalization if the condition becomes severe and, since they’re at risk for developing infections in the mouth, that also becomes an added cost in both money and quality of life.

Fortunately, researchers are now finding ways to help deal with mucositis and hopefully this will become just a nuisance rather than the serious problem it can be.

Prevention

Since we know that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and since we know that mucositis is such a common problem among people who are being treated for certain types of cancers, specifically head, nose and throat cancers, wouldn’t it make more sense to try to prevent it from happening in the first place?

An important part of preventing mucositis or limiting its impact is patient education. If patients aren’t told what could happen, they can’t work on preventing it and they likely can’t recognize mucositis in its early stages. For this, encouraging good oral hygiene and nutrition habits is a must. If you’re being treated for cancer – or someone you know is – understanding why this is important is just as important as actually doing it.

“Early education of both the patient, and the entire supportive team of doctors and nurses, is critical to successful treatment of oral mucositis,” said Jeffrey B. Davis, President & CEO of Access Pharmaceuticals, Inc.  “Patients undergoing radiation or chemo therapy should be treated at the initiation of the treatment, prophylactically, rather than waiting until after this painful condition presents itself.”

Management

There are some products on the market that try to help reduce the severity of mucositis. They include “magic mouthwash,” which is made up by pharmacists with varying ingredients, depending on the pharmacist and the severity of the mucositis. The mouthwash usually is made up of a combination of a local anesthetic (numbing solution), antacid, maybe a pain reliever, and other ingredients. Other products include new medications like amifostine . This is a medication, called a chemoprotectant, given by intravenous. It helps protect your kidneys and mouth fromthe effects of certain types of treatment

Other new products on the market work to protect the mouth by coating it. MuGard is one such product. Developed by Access Pharmaceuticals, Inc, it’s the newest player on the block. These types of products work on the prevention angle of mucositis, rather than the treatment. According to a study done by this may be the right approach. In this article, Access Pharmaceuticals Announces Clinical Results Of MuGard(TM) At A Major Supportive Care Conference , researchers said:

“In our clinical study of head and neck cancer patients receiving radiation therapy, 47% of patients using MuGard(TM) had no mucositis,” stated Rosemary Mazanet M.D., Ph.D., [former] CEO of Access. “Historically, patients on the same treatment without MuGard(TM) had a high rate of mucositis, with only 7% of patients experiencing no mucositis. In addition, the number of patients with mild to moderate mucositis was statistically reduced as well by the use of MuGard(TM).

Have you or someone you know experienced mucositis? What worked or didn’t work for you?

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Part of the Let’s Talk About…. Series

(Let’s Talk About…. Strokes)

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Images courtesy of PhotoXpress.com and Access Pharmaceuticals