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Meta-Analysis
. 2023 Aug 3;59(8):1413.
doi: 10.3390/medicina59081413.

Low-Level Laser Therapy for the Treatment of Oral Mucositis Induced by Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis

Rocco Franco  1 , Ettore Lupi  1 , Enzo Iacomino  1 , Angela Galeotti  2 , Mario Capogreco  1 , João Miguel Marques Santos  3   4 , Maurizio D'Amario  1
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Low-Level Laser Therapy for the Treatment of Oral Mucositis Induced by Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis

Rocco Franco et al. Medicina (Kaunas). .

Abstract

Oral mucositis is a common and debilitating side effect induced by stem cell transplantation that is experienced by cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy or radiation therapy. This condition involves inflammation and ulceration of the oral mucosa, leading to pain, difficulty with eating and speaking, and an increased risk of infections. Mucositis not only compromises the quality of life for cancer patients, but also affects treatment outcomes and may necessitate dose reductions or treatment delays. This scientific article provides a comprehensive overview of mucositis. The purpose of this literature review with a meta-analysis is to evaluate the efficacy of laser therapy in treating post-transplant mucositis. Materials and methods: A search of the literature from 3 May 2023 was carried out on three online databases, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science. Only studies that treated patients with laser therapy were considered; only studies with the placebo-treated control group were considered. Review Manager version 5.2.8 (Cochrane Collaboration) was used for the pooled analysis. We measured the std. mean difference between the two groups (laser and placebo). Results: There were 230 papers included in this review. Two hundred twenty-seven were excluded. Furthermore, a manual search was performed. After the search phase, three articles were considered in the study. The overall effect showed differences in the degree of mucositis in the laser-treated patients compared with the placebo group. The meta-analysis shows a reduction in the degree of mucositis in the patients treated with laser therapy (std. mean difference -1.34 [-1.98; -0.98]; C.I. 95%). Conclusions: The application of laser therapy results in decreased severity of oral mucositis from radiation and chemotherapy. Our study shows that the application of low-level laser therapy in the treatment of transplant mucositis has excellent efficacy in relieving the symptoms and severity of mucositis.

Keywords: low-level light therapy; oral mucositis; stem cell transplantation.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
PRISMA flowchart based on the following: Page, M.J.; McKenzie, J.E.; Bossuyt, P.M.; Boutron, I.; Hoffmann, T.C.; Mulrow, C.D.; et al. The PRISMA 2020 statement: An updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews [24]. * studies identified by search methods; ** studies removed because they are systematic reviews of the literature.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Forest plot of studies included in the meta-analysis; C.I. 95%.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Risk of bias; red indicates high risk, and green indicates low risk of bias.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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