Effectiveness of intraoral stents in reducing oral adverse events during radiotherapy for maxillary or nasal cavity malignant tumors.

PURPOSE: Many patients experience oral adverse events during head and neck cancer radiotherapy (RT). The methods of management of such events are under debate. One such technique is the intraoral stent (IOS) technique, which removes normal tissue from the irradiation field. This retrospective study examined the factors associated with the occurrence of oral mucositis (OM) and dysgeusia and the efficacy of IOSs in preventing them. METHODS: Twenty-nine patients who underwent RT in the maxilla or nasal cavity between 2016 and 2022 were included. They were investigated for background characteristics, treatment factors (IOS and dose-volume histogram), and oral adverse events (OM and dysgeusia). RESULTS: Significant risk factors for the incidence of grade ≥ 2 (Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events v5.0) OM were the non-use of IOSs (p = 0.004) and diabetes (p = 0.025). A significant risk factor for the incidence of grade ≥ 1 dysgeusia was concomitant chemotherapy (p = 0.019). The radiation dose to the tongue was significantly lower in the IOS group than in the non-IOS group. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that the use of an IOS during RT reduces the severity of OM by reducing irradiation to the tongue. Therefore, the use of an IOS is recommended during RT performed in the maxilla or nasal cavity.

Early side effects of radiation treatment for head and neck cancer.

Purpose of this review of medical literature is to present the immediate side effects of radiation therapy for head and neck cancer and their treatment. The likelihood and severity of these immediate side effects depends on a number of factors, including the total dose of radiation delivered, over what time it was delivered and what parts of the head and neck received radiation. Early side effects include: inflammation of the oropharyngeal mucosa (mucositis), painful swallowing (odynophagia), difficulty swallowing (dysphagia), hoarseness, lack of saliva (xerostomia), orofacial pain, laryngeal radionecrosis, dermatitis, hair loss, nausea, vomiting, inadequate nutrition and hydration, and weight loss. These complications can interfere with, and delay treatment. Most of these side effects generally dissipate over time. In conclusion, radiation treatment for the head and neck cancer causes significant early side effects. Many of these side effects present difficult challenges to the patients. Their recognition and treatment can significantly improve the patients' health, long-term survival and quality of life. The review provides information that can assist head and cancer survivors deal with radiation side effects.

A Rare Case of Bifurcated Chorda Tympani.

Preservation of the chorda tympani is important in middle ear surgery to prevent dysgeusia postoperatively. However, determining the exact course of the chorda tympani before surgery is not always possible, especially in cases with accompanying malformations. In this report, we presented an extremely rare case of bifurcation of the chorda tympani in a 15-year-old male patient. We performed tympanoplasty for a middle ear malformation with conductive hearing loss. During the operation, we noticed and carefully preserved the bifurcated chorda tympani. The patient did not develop dysgeusia postoperatively. Appropriate handling and understanding of the anomalous chorda tympani preserved the patient's sense of taste and hence quality of life.

[Proton therapy for head and neck squamous cell carcinomas: From physics to clinic]. / Protonthérapie des carcinomes épidermoïdes des voies aérodigestives supérieures : de la physique à la clinique.

Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) is presently the recommended technique for the treatment of locally advanced head and neck carcinomas. Proton therapy would allow to reduce the volume of irradiated normal tissue and, thus, to decrease the risk of late dysphagia, xerostomia, dysgeusia and hypothyroidism. An exhaustive research was performed with the search engine PubMed by focusing on the papers about the physical difficulties that slow down use of proton therapy for head and neck carcinomas. Range uncertainties in proton therapy (±3 %) paradoxically limit the use of the steep dose gradient in distality. Calibration uncertainties can be important in the treatment of head and neck cancer in the presence of materials of uncertain stoichiometric composition (such as with metal implants, dental filling, etc.) and complex heterogeneities. Dental management for example may be different with IMRT or proton therapy. Some uncertainties can be somewhat minimized at the time of optimization. Inter- and intrafractional variations and uncertainties in Hounsfield units/stopping power can be integrated in a robust optimization process. Additional changes in patient's anatomy (tumour shrinkage, changes in skin folds in the beam patch, large weight loss or gain) require rescanning. Dosimetric and small clinical studies comparing photon and proton therapy have well shown the interest of proton therapy for head and neck cancers. Intensity-modulated proton therapy is a promising treatment as it can reduce the substantial toxicity burden of patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma compared to IMRT. Robust optimization will allow to perform an optimal treatment and to use proton therapy in current clinical practice.

Prospective assessment of taste impairment and nausea during radiotherapy for head and neck cancer.

Dysgeusia and nausea are common side effects observed in head and neck cancer patients treated with either exclusive radiotherapy or combined modality treatment. The aim of the present study was to prospectively evaluate dysgeusia, during treatment and follow-up, using the chemotherapy-induced taste alteration scale (CiTAS), a metrics based on 18-items exploring three dimensions (quantitative and qualitative changes in taste perception, and diet-related issues) identified through a four-factor analysis: decline in basic taste, discomfort, phantogeusia-parageusia, and general taste alterations. Moreover, we scored, according to Common Toxicity Criteria Adverse Events, nausea and other treatment-related toxicities. Since, ginger is traditionally used to prevent and/or treat nausea and vomiting, we prophylactically employed a ginger-based supplement named Naumix/Naugin (Gamfarma, Milan, Italy), to potentially mitigate both nausea and taste impairment. Using the CiTAS scale, we highlighted a progressive increase in all dysgeusia dimensions, peaking at the VII week of treatment and a subsequent partial late recovery. In particular, we observed a recovery for discomfort, phantogeusia-parageusia, and general taste alterations at 6 months. Grade 2 nausea, observed to be as low as 12.9% potentially due to the use of ginger, peaked at the III week of treatment. Finally, for patients experiencing nausea, the dysgeusia dimension of discomfort was also relevant.

Oral Hygiene Care in Patients With Advanced Disease: An Essential Measure to Improve Oral Cavity Conditions and Symptom Management.

BACKGROUND: Oral problems are frequent in palliative care and can cause disabling symptoms such as orofacial pain, dysgeusia, and xerostomia. Even if oral care is an essential aspect of nursing, it is often not considered as a priority, especially when various complex patients' needs have to be managed. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to describe oral conditions and evaluate the impact of standard oral care on symptom control and patient's perceived comfort in a sample of terminally ill patients. METHOD: A prospective cohort study was carried out among 415 patients who were admitted to hospice. Patients were recruited before undergoing standard assisted procedure for oral hygiene care. Oral cavity condition, symptoms, and comfort were assessed at the recruitment (T0) and after 3 days (T2). RESULTS: Seventy-five eligible patients were recruited. The Oral Assessment Guide score was significantly decreased after oral standard care (P value <.0001). The average time spent by nursing staff for oral hygiene care was 5.3 minutes. Dysgeusia and xerostomia were significantly decreased after oral standard care (P = .02 and P = .03). Patients reported a high level of comfort (86.6%) after the procedures for oral hygiene care. CONCLUSION: Patients admitted to hospice had frequent alterations in oral cavity with partial loss of its functions that can compromise their quality of life. Standard procedures for oral hygiene care are simple and fast to perform, and they may improve oral cavity conditions, symptoms control, and patients' comfort.

Feasibility of preservation of chorda tympani nerve during noninflammatory ear surgery: A systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of our systematic review is to investigate the postoperative gustatory function of the chorda tympani nerve following noninflammatory ear surgery for which the chorda tympani is at risk for iatrogenic injury (stretching, handling, or sacrificing). DATA SOURCES: PubMed and EMBASE. REVIEW METHODS: A PubMed and EMBASE databases search was conducted on November 15, 2016. Study inclusion criteria included: 1) ear surgery performed for noninflammatory ear diseases, and 2) gustatory function of the chorda tympani reported as an outcome. The quality of eligible studies was assessed using the risk of bias assessment tool for nonrandomized studies. Study characteristics and outcome data of the included studies were extracted. RESULTS: In total 1,094 articles were retrieved. Fourteen studies encompassing 1,062 operated ears were included after quality assessment. Stapedectomy was the most frequent surgical procedure performed in 398 ears. The follow-up time varied between 6 weeks and 99 months. Patients with a preserved chorda tympani were less symptomatic (24% was symptomatic) compared to patients with a stretched (53% was symptomatic) or sacrificed chorda tympani (47% was symptomatic). The recovery rate varied from 61% to 79%. The results of the electrogustometry and strip test showed a discrepancy with the subjective complaints of the patients. CONCLUSION: Patients with a stretched chorda tympani were slightly more symptomatic compared to patients with a sacrificed chorda tympani. Therefore, in cases for which the chorda tympani greatly hinders a proper view of the surgical field, sacrificing the nerve could be considered to maximize surgical performance and have a satisfactory postoperative result. Laryngoscope, 1904-1913, 2018.

Confecção de dispositivo intraoral para proteção de tecidos bucais durante a radioterapia / Preparation of intraoral device for protection of oral tissues during radiotherapy

Estima-se que no Brasil para os anos de 2016 e 2017, o diagnóstico de câncer em região de boca e laringe atingirá mais de 22 mil pessoas. Os principais tratamentos para esta doença são quimioterapia, cirurgia e radioterapia realizados de forma associada ou não. O tratamento antineoplásico gera diversos efeitos colaterais que prejudicam muito a qualidade de vida do paciente. Avaliando a radioterapia, os principais efeitos colaterais são: a mucosite oral, disgeusia e trismo, além do desenvolvimento de hipossalivação, cáries de radiação e osteorradionecrose. A Radioterapia de Intensidade Modulada de Feixe (IMRT) possibilita o tratamento oncológico com diferentes isodoses de radiação conforme a necessidade da região, possibilitando emitir menor quantidade de radiação em tecido livre do tumor próximo ao foco principal de tratamento, diferente dos tratamentos radioterápicos convencionais mais antigos. Nosso objetivo foi desenvolver um dispositivo intraoral confeccionado com resina acrílica para afastar tecido sadio do foco principal de radioterapia por IMRT, separando mecanicamente o palato, língua e assoalho bucal em pacientes com câncer em região de boca e orofaringe. Os pacientes foram divididos em dois grupos: controle (GC) sem uso do dispositivo intraoral e análise (GA) com uso do dispositivo intraoral. Os pacientes do GC foram avaliados através da retrospectiva de seus prontuários, o GA foi acompanhado durante planejamento e todo o tratamento radioterápico por IMRT. Foram avaliados grau de mucosite oral seguindo critérios da OMS (GC e GA) e OMAS (GA), questionário sobre impacto da saúde bucal na qualidade de vida antes e depois (GA) das sessões de radioterapia, sexo, idade, tratamentos antineoplásicos concomitantes, doses de radiação (GC e GA), desenvolvimento de disgeusia (GA) e trismo (GA). Ocorreu maior tendência na gravidade de mucosite oral para pacientes do GC. Os testes estatísticos foram significantes com p < 0,05 para menor grau de desenvolvimento de eritema e úlceras em mucosa bucal em GA. Todos os pacientes do GA desenvolveram disgeusia no período entre 7 e 14 dias após a última sessão de radioterapia. A capacidade de abertura bucal pós tratamento radioterápico no GA foi diminuída em média 8,35%. A avaliação do impacto da saúde bucal na qualidade de vida antes e após tratamento foi significativo em três dimensões e na avaliação geral do questionário. O planejamento de distribuição das isodoses em região de tumor e áreas adjacentes através de tomografia computadorizada foi facilitado pelo uso de dispositivo intraoral devido afastamento mecânico de estruturas bucais não comprometidas pelo câncer. A diminuição dos efeitos colaterais causados pela radioterapia melhoram a qualidade de vida durante e após o tratamento. A estabilização da posição de boca e língua durante a radioterapia deixou o tratamento mais confortável para os pacientes, além de beneficiar o trabalho do médico radioterapeuta e físico médico. (AU)

In Brazil, between 2016 and 2017, the cancer diagnosis in the mouth and larynx region is estimated to reach more than 22,000 people. The main treatment for this disease are chemotherapy, surgery and radiotherapy done in a conjunct way or not. The antineoplastic treatment generates several side effects that do much harm to the patient welfare. In radiotherapy, the main side effects are oral mucositis, dysgeusia and trismus, besides the salivation development, radiation cavities and osteoradionecrosis. The radiotherapy by IMRT allows the cancer treatment with different radiation isodoses according to the region allowing a reduced amount of free tumor region emission close to the main focus treatment, different from the older conventional radiotherapeutic treatment. Our goal was to develop an intraoral device using acrylic resin to put away healthy tissue from the IMRT treatment main focus, separating mechanically palate, tongue and mouth floor in mouth and oropharynx neoplasm region patients. The patients compused two groups: control (CG) without intraoral stent and analysis (AG) with intraoral stent usage. The CG patients were evaluated throughout their medical records historic; the AG was accompanied during planning and all the IMRT radiotherapeutic treatment. The oral mucositis degrees were evaluated according WHO (CG and AG) and OMAS (AG) criteria, survey about mouth health impact on welfare before and after (AG) the radiotherapy sessions, gender, age, concomitant antineoplastic treatment, radiation doses (CG and AG), dysgeusia treatment (AG) and trismus (AG). Higher incidence of oral mucositis severity to CG patients occurred; the statistic tests were significant with p < 0.05 to minor erythema and ulcer development degree in mouth mucosa in AG. In all AG patients developed dysgeusia in the period between 7 and 14 days after the last radiotherapy session. The mouth opening after radiotherapeutic treatment diminished a mean of 8.35%. The impact of mouth health on welfare before and after treatment was not significant. The isodoses distribution planning in tumor and nearby areas regions throughout computed tomography was eased by the intraoral stent usage due to mechanically spacing from the mouth structures not harmed by cancer. The side effects diminishing caused by radiotherapy improve welfare during and after the treatment and the mouth and tongue position stabilization during the radiotherapy left the treatment more comfortable for the patients, besides benefitting the medical radiotherapist and the medical physicist work. (AU)

Evaluation of the risk factors associated with high-dose chemotherapy-induced dysgeusia in patients undergoing autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation: possible usefulness of cryotherapy in dysgeusia prevention.

PURPOSE: Dysgeusia is one of the sporadic adverse effects induced by chemotherapy, but it remains poorly understood. The aim of this study was to retrospectively identify the risk factors related with dysgeusia in patients undergoing autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (AHSCT). METHODS: Forty-eight patients with myeloma or lymphoma undergoing AHSCT were enrolled in this study. Data regarding dysgeusia and symptoms were collected by interviews conducted by medical workers. Patient characteristics and unfavorable effects induced by dysgeusia were obtained from medical records and analyzed. Logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the risk factors related with dysgeusia. RESULTS: Of the 48 patients, 20 (42 %) had dysgeusia after AHSCT. The total period of parenteral nutrition (TPN) administration and period of decreased oral intake in the dysgeusia group were statistically longer than those in the non-dysgeusia group. Multivariate analyses revealed that oral mucositis (odds ratio: 30.3; p < 0.01) and the type of chemotherapy prior to AHSCT (odds ratio: 6.56; p < 0.05) were independent risk factors, while oral cryotherapy was the independent suppressive factor of dysgeusia (odds ratio: 0.14; p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Our study showed that dysgeusia after AHSCT led to the decrease in oral intake and extended the TPN administration period. Moreover, MEAM or LEED chemotherapy and oral mucositis were independent risk factors for dysgeusia in patients undergoing AHSCT, while oral cryotherapy was an independent suppressive factor for dysgeusia. Therefore, oral cryotherapy should be implemented into the regimen of supportive care management in patients undergoing AHSCT.

Running-based pica in rats. Evidence for the gastrointestinal discomfort hypothesis of running-based taste aversion.

Voluntary running in an activity wheel establishes aversion to paired taste in rats. A proposed mechanism underlying this taste aversion learning is gastrointestinal discomfort caused by running. We tested this hypothesis by measuring the pica behavior (kaolin clay intake) of rats, because it is known that rats engage in pica behavior after various nausea-inducing treatments including irradiation, motion sickness, and injection of emetic drugs such as lithium chloride (LiCl). Following a demonstration of the already-known phenomenon of LiCl-based pica in Experiment 1, we successfully showed running-based pica behavior in Experiment 2 where the running treatment was compared with a non-running control treatment (i.e., confinement in a locked wheel). These results suggest that not only LiCl but also running induces nausea in rats, supporting the gastrointestinal discomfort hypothesis of running-based taste aversion learning.

Analysis of causal models of diet for patients with head and neck cancer receiving radiation therapy.

PURPOSE: This study seeks to establish causal models of diet which maintain the appetite of head and neck cancer patients receiving radiation therapy. SAMPLE AND METHODS: We collected data from 208 patients at two radiation doses, 30/50 Gy, using a questionnaire on appetite and analyzed the items using structural equation modeling. RESULTS: In the causal model for 30 Gy, we established a path using the four intervening variables "ease of consuming foods in smooth forms," "ease of consuming foods with a chewable texture and suitable temperature," "ease of consuming lightly seasoned foods with a flavorful smell," and "overall ease of consuming a given meal" from the temporal relationship between "dietary preferences" and "maintaining appetite while caring for the oral cavity." In the causal model for 50 Gy, we established a path between "ease of consuming foods with a mild temperature and smell," and "maintaining appetite while caring for the oral cavity" using the four intervening variables "ease of consuming foods that are easy to swallow," "ease of consuming foods that dissolve well in the mouth," "ease of consuming foods with a mild taste," and "overall ease of consuming a given meal." The goodness of fit indices for both models were above 0.85 for both the goodness of fit index (GFI) and adjusted GFI (AGFI), and less than 0.08 for root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA), indicating a satisfactory goodness of fit. CONCLUSIONS: Food characteristics help to maintain patient appetite at cumulative radiation doses of 30/50 Gy.

Prevention and treatment of the consequences of head and neck radiotherapy.

The location of the primary tumor or lymph node metastases dictates the inclusion of the oral cavity, salivary glands, and jaws in the radiation treatment portals for patients who have head and neck cancer. The clinical sequelae of the radiation treatment include mucositis, hyposalivation, loss of taste, osteoradionecrosis, radiation caries, and trismus. These sequelae may be dose-limiting and have a tremendous effect on the patient's quality of life. Most treatment protocols to prevent these sequelae are still based on clinical experience, but alternatives based on fundamental basic and clinical research are becoming more and more available. Many of these alternatives either need further study before they can be incorporated into the protocols commonly used to prevent and treat the radiation-related oral sequelae or await implementation of these protocols. In this review, the various possibilities for prevention and/or treatment of radiation-induced changes in healthy oral tissues and their consequences are discussed.