RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Photobiomodulation therapy (PBM-T) can penetrate soft tissues and exert analgesic and healing effects, and is thus a promising alternative for prevention and treatment of oral mucositis (OM). The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of PBM-T, alone or combined with photodynamic therapy (PDT), for treatment of OM in cancer patients. METHODS: Fifty-six patients were recruited from the Oncology Department of a teaching hospital. Patients underwent grading of OM and were divided into two groups (nâ¯=â¯28 each): PBM-T and PBM-Tâ¯+â¯PDT. In the PBM-T group, low-level laser was applied to 61 points in the oral cavity, once weekly for 4 weeks (wavelength 660â¯nm, power 100â¯mW, energy density 142â¯J/cm², spot energy 4â¯J, irradiation time 40â¯s). In the PBM-Tâ¯+â¯PDT group, in addition to PBM-T as described above, patients rinsed with 20â¯ml of photosensitizing mouthwash (curcumin 1.5â¯g/L) and the oral cavity was irradiated with a blue (468â¯nm) LED for 5â¯min. RESULTS: Significant reductions in OM grade were observed after application of PBM-T or PBM-Tâ¯+â¯PDT (pâ¯<â¯0.0001). PBM-Tâ¯+â¯PDT resulted in a shorter time to resolution of lesions compared to PBM-T alone (pâ¯=â¯0.0005). CONCLUSIONS: PBM-T, alone or combined with PDT, can be used for the treatment of OM. PDTâ¯+â¯PBM-T in particular accelerated the OM healing process, reducing time to lesion remission from 15 to 11 days.