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Review
. 2020 Apr;9(4):3126-3134.
doi: 10.21037/tcr.2020.02.77.

Impact of oral mucositis on quality of life in patients undergoing oncological treatment: a systematic review

Ali Hatem Manfi Al-Rudayni  1 , Divya Gopinath  2 , Mari Kannan Maharajan  3 , Rohit Kunnath Menon  4
Affiliations
Review

Impact of oral mucositis on quality of life in patients undergoing oncological treatment: a systematic review

Ali Hatem Manfi Al-Rudayni et al. Transl Cancer Res. 2020 Apr.

Abstract

Oral mucositis (OM) is one of the most prominent side effects of cancer treatment and is believed to have a significant impact on the quality of life (QoL) of the affected patients. However, measurements for the investigation of OM is plagued by heterogeneity in symptoms that varies with the type of cancer or the treatment. We aimed to carry out a qualitative assessment of the current evidence on the impact of OM on QoL in patients undergoing oncologic treatment. A systematic search for studies evaluating the impact of OM on QoL was performed in MEDLINE and Embase databases from inception to December 2018 using the MeSH terms for the keywords "Antineoplastic", "Stomatitis", and "Quality of life". Studies were initially assessed based on the selection criteria and underwent a selection process based on the title and abstract followed by a full text review. Data extraction was performed into a standardized data collection form to collect data pertaining to the author/year, study design, study characteristics, mucositis assessment, QoL assessment and results. A qualitative assessment was performed. A total of 459 articles were selected after removal of duplicates. Following the full text review, only ten articles qualified for the systematic review based on the selection criteria. Several studies have identified a correlation between the severity of mucositis and reduction in QoL. The impact of OM on QoL extend beyond the local oral complications and has been shown to affect the physical, emotional, and psychological functional domains. However, heterogeneity in the study parameters and evaluation (cancer types, treatment regimens, chosen time points (during or after therapy) and the instruments used for QoL measurements) does not permit a robust assessment of the impact of OM on QoL. A standardized approach to the measurement of oral mucositis and evaluation of QoL is required to enhance the utility of QoL data in patients afflicted with oral mucositis following cancer treatment.

Keywords: Antineoplastic therapy; oral mucositis (OM); quality of life (QoL).

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at http://dx.doi.org/10.21037/tcr.2020.02.77). The series “Oral Pre-cancer and Cancer” was commissioned by the editorial office without any funding or sponsorship. The authors have no other conflicts of interest to declare.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
PRISMA flow diagram for systematic review depicting phases of identification of studies.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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