Prediction of mucositis risk secondary to cancer therapy: a systematic review of current evidence and call to action.

PURPOSE: Despite advances in personalizing the efficacy of cancer therapy, our ability to identify patients at risk of severe treatment side effects and provide individualized supportive care is limited. This is particularly the case for mucositis (oral and gastrointestinal), with no comprehensive risk evaluation strategies to identify high-risk patients. We, the Multinational Association for Supportive Care in Cancer/International Society for Oral Oncology (MASCC/ISOO) Mucositis Study Group, therefore aimed to systematically review current evidence on that factors that influence mucositis risk to provide a foundation upon which future risk prediction studies can be based. METHODS: We identified 11,018 papers from PubMed and Web of Science, with 197 records extracted for full review and 113 meeting final eligibility criteria. Data were then synthesized into tables to highlight the level of evidence for each risk predictor. RESULTS: The strongest level of evidence supported dosimetric parameters as key predictors of mucositis risk. Genetic variants in drug-metabolizing pathways, immune signaling, and cell injury/repair mechanisms were also identified to impact mucositis risk. Factors relating to the individual were variably linked to mucositis outcomes, although female sex and smoking status showed some association with mucositis risk. CONCLUSION: Mucositis risk reflects the complex interplay between the host, tumor microenvironment, and treatment specifications, yet the large majority of studies rely on hypothesis-driven, single-candidate approaches. For significant advances in the provision of personalized supportive care, coordinated research efforts with robust multiplexed approaches are strongly advised.

Host-Microbiome Cross-talk in Oral Mucositis.

Oral mucositis (OM) is among the most common, painful, and debilitating toxicities of cancer regimen-related treatment, resulting in the formation of ulcers, which are susceptible to increased colonization of microorganisms. Novel discoveries in OM have focused on understanding the host-microbial interactions, because current pathways have shown that major virulence factors from microorganisms have the potential to contribute to the development of OM and may even prolong the existence of already established ulcerations, affecting tissue healing. Additional comprehensive and disciplined clinical investigation is needed to carefully characterize the relationship between the clinical trajectory of OM, the local levels of inflammatory changes (both clinical and molecular), and the ebb and flow of the oral microbiota. Answering such questions will increase our knowledge of the mechanisms engaged by the oral immune system in response to mucositis, facilitating their translation into novel therapeutic approaches. In doing so, directed clinical strategies can be developed that specifically target those times and tissues that are most susceptible to intervention.

Placebo effect in burning mouth syndrome: a systematic review.

Placebo controls play a critical role in the evaluation of any pharmacotherapy. This review surveys the placebo arm in 12 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) investigating burning mouth syndrome (BMS) and documents a positive placebo response in 6 of them. On average, treatment with placebos produced a response that was 72% as large as the response to active drugs. The lack of homogeneity in the use of placebos adds to the difficulty in comparing results and aggregating data. Future RCTs investigating BMS would benefit from larger sample sizes, adequate follow-up periods, and use of a standard placebo.

New thoughts on the initiation of mucositis.

It has been slightly more than a decade since the classic mechanistic paradigm that defined the pathogenesis of mucositis was revised. A five-stage sequence of linked biological events forms the basis for our current understanding of how regimen-related mucosal injury occurs. The first stage is the initiation phase, although the gateway to toxicity has been the least studied. This essay proposes new thoughts on the phase's components, how they might interact, and how they present new opportunities for treatment interventions and mucositis risk prediction.

Subgingival and tongue microbiota during early periodontitis.

Periodontal infections have a microbial etiology. Association of species with early disease would be useful in determining which microbes initiate periodontitis. We hypothesized that the microbiota of subgingival and tongue samples would differ between early periodontitis and health. A cross-sectional evaluation of 141 healthy and early periodontitis adults was performed with the use of oligonucleotide probes and PCR. Most species differed in associations with sample sites; most subgingival species were associated with subgingival samples. Few species were detected more frequently in early periodontitis by DNA probes. Porphyromonas gingivalis and Tannerella forsythia (Tannerella forsythensis) were associated with early periodontitis by direct PCR. In conclusion, the microbiota of tongue samples was less sensitive than that of subgingival samples in detecting periodontal species, and there was overlap in species detected in health and early periodontitis. Detection of periodontal pathogens in early periodontitis suggests an etiology similar to that of more advanced disease.

Assessment of oral mucositis in clinical trials: impact of training on evaluators in a multi-centre trial.

In the assessment of mucositis, the inter-evaluator variability needs to be minimised and would likely to be best accomplished by training. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of training on concordance of evaluators in scoring oral mucositis. The evaluators were informed about the pathobiology and clinical appearance of mucositis and were trained in scoring mucositis according the Oral Mucositis Assessment Scale (OMAS). The effect of the training was evaluated by a pre- and post-training test. Each test consisted of 15 slides depicting oral mucositis. The pre- and post-training scores were compared to the reference standard. During 8 months at 6 meetings, 65 evaluators were trained. The mean percentage correctly scored slides according the OMAS increased significantly between the pre- and post-training test (P<0.001). Training evaluators in scoring oral mucositis has a significant improvement on the outcome of mucositis assessment.

The relationship between mucosal cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression and experimental radiation-induced mucositis.

Although cycloooxygenase-2 (COX-2) is upregulated by factors associated with oral mucositis, its role in the pathogenesis of mucositis has not been studied. We investigated the kinetics of mucosal COX-2 expression following radiation exposure, and assessed its relationship to the development of oral mucositis in an established animal model using immunohistochemical endpoints. While little or no COX-2 expression was observed in unirradiated mucosa or in tissue taken 2 days after radiation, COX-2 expression was dramatic on days 10 and 16, especially in submucosal fibroblasts and endothelium. The kinetics of COX-2 expression paralleled mucositis severity. A burst of angiogenic activity was seen on day 21 following peak COX-2 expression. The kinetics of COX-2 expression relative to mucositis progression suggests that COX-2 is not a primary driver of radiation injury, but instead plays an amplifying role.

The gene expression sequence of radiated mucosa in an animal mucositis model.

Oral mucositis is a common, dose-limiting, acute toxicity of radiation therapy administered for the treatment of cancers of the head and neck. Accumulating data would suggest that the pathogenesis of mucositis is complex and involves the sequential interaction of all cell types of the oral mucosa, as well as a number of cytokines and elements of the oral environment. While a number of studies have reported on gene expression of particular cell types in response to radiation, the overall response of irradiated mucosa has only been evaluated in a limited way. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the expression of a target group of genes using RNA quantification assays and, more broadly, to assess patterns of mucosal gene expression using DNA microarray hybridization. Our results demonstrate the sequential upregulation of a series of genes that, when taken collectively, suggest an intricate functional interaction.

Topical transforming growth factor-beta3 in the prevention or alleviation of chemotherapy-induced oral mucositis in patients with lymphomas or solid tumors.

Transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta3 has been hypothesized to prevent or alleviate oral mucositis (OM) in cancer patients receiving high-dose chemotherapy (CT). Two double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter, phase II studies of TGF-beta3 were initiated in the United States, Europe, and Argentina in patients with lymphomas or solid tumors who were receiving highly stomatotoxic CT regimens. Patients were to apply 10-mL mouthwash applications of TGF-beta3 (25 microg/mL) or placebo four times daily (or twice daily) 1 day before and all days during CT. The patients were subsequently evaluated for OM incidence, severity, and duration using National Institute of Cancer Common Toxicity Criteria (NCI-CTC) criteria and an objective scoring system (1). After the start of the trials, negative results from new preclinical studies suggesting suboptimal formulation and/or dosing led to an interim analysis of the ongoing clinical trials. One hundred fifty-two patients from the combined studies were included in the interim analysis, with 116 patients on the TGF-beta3 four times daily and placebo arms. Most (72%) patients had breast cancer, 22% had lymphomas, and 6% had other solid tumors. Although 98% (149 of 152) of patients experienced adverse events, only 14% (22 of 152) experienced events that were judged as possibly or probably related to the study drug (primarily gastrointestinal symptoms). No clinically relevant differences were seen between the treatment and placebo arms regarding safety, nor was there evidence for systemic absorption of TGF-beta3. Finally, there was no advantage of TGF-beta3 treatment regarding the incidence (TGF-beta3 four times daily versus placebo [46% versus 47%]), onset, or duration of NCI-CTC grade 3 or 4 OM. For this dose, formulation, regimen. and patient population, TGF-beta3 was not effective in the prevention or alleviation of CT-induced OM.

Oral mucositis and the clinical and economic outcomes of hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation.

PURPOSE: To explore the relationship between oral mucositis and selected clinical and economic outcomes in blood and marrow transplant patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Subjects consisted of 92 transplant patients from eight centers who participated in a multinational pilot study of a new oral mucositis scoring system (Oral Mucositis Assessment Scale [OMAS]). In the pilot study, patients were evaluated for erythema and ulceration/pseudomembrane formation beginning on the first day of conditioning and continuing for 28 days. We examined the relationship between patients' peak OMAS scores and days with fever (body temperature > 38.0 degrees C), the occurrence of significant infection, days of total parenteral nutrition (TPN), and days of injectable narcotic therapy (all over 28 days), days in hospital (over 60 days), total hospital charges for the index admission, and vital status at 100 days. RESULTS: Patients' peak OMAS scores spanned the full range of possible values (0 to 5) and were significantly (P <.05) correlated with all of the outcomes of interest except days with fever (P =.21). In analyses controlling for type of graft (autologous v allogeneic) and study center, a 1-point increase in peak OMAS score was associated with (1) 1.0 additional day with fever (P <.01), (2) a 2.1-fold increase in risk of significant infection (P <.01), (3) 2.7 additional days of TPN (P <.0001), (4) 2.6 additional days of injectable narcotic therapy (P <.0001), (5) 2.6 additional days in hospital (P <.01), (6) $25,405 in additional hospital charges (P <.0001), and (7) a 3.9-fold increase in 100-day mortality risk (P <.01). Mean hospital charges were $42,749 higher among patients with evidence of ulceration compared with those without (P =.06). CONCLUSION: Oral mucositis is associated with significantly worse clinical and economic outcomes in blood and marrow transplantation.

Defining mechanisms of action of interleukin-11 on the progression of radiation-induced oral mucositis in hamsters.

Oral ulcerative mucositis is a common toxicity associated with drug and radiation therapy for cancer. It impacts on quality of life and economic outcomes, as well as morbidity and mortality. Mucositis is often associated with dose limitations for chemotherapy or is a cause for dose interruption for radiation. The complexity of mucositis as a biological process has only been recently appreciated. It has been suggested that the condition represents a sequential interaction of oral mucosal cells and tissues, pro-inflammatory cytokines and local factors such as saliva and the oral microbiota. The recognition that the pathophysiology of mucositis is a multifactorial process was partially suggested by the observation that interleukin-11 (IL-11), a pleotropic cytokine, favorably altered the course of chemotherapy-induced mucositis in an animal model. In the current study, we evaluated a series of biologic and morphologic outcomes to determine their roles and sequence in the development of experimental radiation-induced mucositis and to evaluate the effects of IL-11 in attenuating them. Our results suggest that IL-11 favorably modulates acute radiation-induced mucositis by attenuating pro-inflammatory cytokine expression. Data are also presented which help define the pathobiological sequence of mucositis.

The correlation between epidermal growth factor levels in saliva and the severity of oral mucositis during oropharyngeal radiation therapy.

BACKGROUND: Epidermal growth factor (EGF) is present in biologic fluids, including saliva, and plays a role in maintenance of the epithelial barrier and in healing of damaged mucosa. The purpose of this study was to assess the relation between salivary EGF and the severity of oral mucositis in patients with carcinoma of the head and neck during radiation therapy. METHODS: Whole resting saliva (WRS) and whole stimulated saliva (WSS) were collected prior to radiation and each week during radiation treatment for 11 men and 7 women. Oral mucositis was evaluated using the National Cancer Institute (NCI) scale of 0-4 and the Oral Mucositis Assessment Scale (OMAS), which evaluates the extent of erythema (scale of 0-2) and ulcerations (scale of 0-3) in nine oral sites. The overall OMAS score of 0-45 reflected the mucosal condition. EGF was assayed in the saliva specimens. RESULTS: The total mean radiation dose delivered to the head and neck was 5667 centigrays (cGy) in a mean of 24 fractions. Ulcerative oral mucositis occurred in 94% of patients. The mean OMAS score ranged from 2.83 in the first week of treatment to 14.77 in the fifth week. The mean WRS and WSS volumes decreased significantly from pretreatment to the first week of radiation treatment and then remained stable. A similar pattern was seen for the mean total output of EGF. A significant and negative correlation was found between higher levels of EGF in stimulated saliva and low OMAS score, reflecting less severe erythema and ulceration. A general trend showing that less tissue damage was associated with a higher EGF level in resting saliva also was illustrated. EGF levels were correlated with the OMAS score; however, no correlation was found when assessing the NCI score, which combines tissue damage with function and symptoms in a single score. CONCLUSIONS: Radiation-induced mucositis appeared to be modified by saliva volume, total EGF, and concentration of EGF in the oral environment. Saliva volume and total EGF output decreased significantly in the first weeks of treatment and remained reduced throughout radiation therapy. The findings suggest that higher levels of EGF in saliva, particularly in stimulated saliva, prior to and during radiation treatment may be associated with less severe mucosal damage due to radiation therapy. It is also postulated that human EGF may affect the development and healing of radiation-damaged mucosa.

Validation of a new scoring system for the assessment of clinical trial research of oral mucositis induced by radiation or chemotherapy. Mucositis Study Group.

BACKGROUND: An impediment to mucositis research has been the lack of an accepted, validated scoring system. The objective of this study was to design, test, and validate a new scoring system for mucositis that can be used easily, is reproducible, and provides an accurate system for research applications. METHODS: A panel of experts, convened to design an objective, simple, and reproducible assessment tool to evaluate mucositis with specific application to multicenter clinical trials, developed a scale that measured objective and subjective indicators of mucositis. Nine centers participated in the study's validation. Paired investigators at each center evaluated patients receiving chemotherapy or head and neck radiation. Objective measures of mucositis evaluated ulceration/pseudomembrane formation and erythema. Subjective outcomes of mouth pain, ability to swallow, and function were measured. Analgesia use for mouth sensitivity was recorded. RESULTS: One hundred eight chemotherapy and 56 radiation therapy patients were evaluated. Seventy-eight percent of chemotherapy patients and 64% of radiation therapy patients had clinically significant mucositis. Cumulative daily mucositis scores demonstrated a high correlation among observers. Using area under the curve analysis, it was found that for chemotherapy patients, the highest correlations (correlation coefficient > 0.92) occurred for the scores that selected the three highest daily values over the course of mucositis assessment. High interobserver correlations were noted for patients receiving radiation therapy. Objective mucositis scores demonstrated strong correlation with symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: The scoring system evaluated was easily used, showed high interobserver reproducibility, was responsive over time, and measured those elements deemed to be associated with mucositis. The use of concomitant symptomatic measurements appeared to be unnecessary.

Effect of local application of the antimicrobial peptide IB-367 on the incidence and severity of oral mucositis in hamsters.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this animal study was to determine whether IB-367, an antimicrobial peptide, is able to ameliorate oral mucositis by reducing microflora densities on the mucosal surfaces of the mouth. STUDY DESIGN: Oral mucositis was induced in hamsters by intraperitoneal injection of 5-fluorouracil followed by superficial abrasion of the buccal mucosa. A test formulation was applied topically to the buccal mucosa 5 or 6 times per day starting 6 to 8 hours before abrasion. RESULTS: Mucositis scores were significantly lower (P < .05) in hamsters given formulations containing 0.5 or 2.0 mg/mL of IB-367 than in placebo-treated controls. Treatment with IB-367 produced a more than 100-fold reduction in oral microflora densities. In a second experiment, treatment of hamsters with a formulation containing IB-367 at 0.12, 0.5 or 2.0 mg/mL resulted in a dose-dependent reduction in mucositis severity. CONCLUSION: The results indicate that reduction of local microflora densities through use of IB-367 may improve clinical outcomes in patients at risk for the development of oral mucositis.

New frontiers in the management of chemotherapy-induced mucositis.

About one-third of patients undergoing chemotherapy treatment suffer oral mucositis, an inflammatory-like change of the oral mucosa. Severe pseudomembranous/ulcerative mucositis can lead to secondary infection of lesions, sepsis and even cessation of treatment. Patients receiving curative head-neck irradiation are most susceptible and children undergoing chemotherapy are three times more likely to be affected. Mucositis is a costly side-effect of cancer therapy due to the extra time patients spend in hospital and currently there is no consistently effective treatment. Experimental studies with TGF-beta 3, a potent negative regulator of epithelial and haematopoietic stem cell growth, have shown that it is possible to temporarily arrest oral mucosal basal cell proliferation, and could therefore offer a new effective and safe form of preventative intervention for patients about to undergo aggressive regimens of cancer therapy.

Mucositis as a biological process: a new hypothesis for the development of chemotherapy-induced stomatotoxicity.

Mucositis induced by antineoplastic drugs is an important, dose-limiting and costly side effect of cancer therapy. The ulcerative lesions which result are frequent systemic portals of entry for microorganisms which inhabit the mouth and consequently are often sources of systemic infection in the myelosuppressed patient. A number of clinical observations and the inconsistency of responses to a broad range of treatment modalities suggests a physiological complexity to mucositis which has not previously been comprehensively considered. We now propose a hypothesis as to the mechanism by which mucositis develops and resolves, which is based on four phases: an initial inflammatory/vascular phase; an epithelial phase; an ulcerative/bacteriological phase; and a healing phase. The role of cytokines as initiators and ampliers of the process is discussed, as is the potential influence of genetic factors in establishing risk and modifying the course of stomatotoxicity.

The impact of mucositis on alpha-hemolytic streptococcal infection in patients undergoing autologous bone marrow transplantation for hematologic malignancies.

BACKGROUND: Antibacterial prophylaxis with quinolone antibiotics has resulted in an increase in streptococcal infections among bone marrow transplantation (BMT) recipients with myelosuppression. Oral ulceration (mucositis), which frequently occurs as a consequence of chemotherapy, has been implicated as a significant portal of entry for streptococci. The objectives of this study were to confirm the correlation between mucositis and streptococcal bacteremia, determine the risk associated with this correlation, and evaluate the impact of mucositis and streptococcal bacteremia on hospital course and costs associated with autologous BMT. METHODS: This was a retrospective, case-control study in which the charts of autologous BMT recipients treated for hematologic malignancies between 1990 and 1996 were reviewed. Twenty-four patients were identified who met the criteria of autologous BMT; their blood cultures confirmed (x2) alpha-hemolytic streptococcal sepsis. A control group of 45 without positive cultures was matched by gender, age, diagnosis, and treatment to the study group. RESULTS: The results confirm that ulcerative mucositis is a significant risk factor for alpha-hemolytic streptococcal bacteremia among autologous BMT patients. Of the 24 patients with bacteremia, 15 of 24 (62%) had ulcerative mucositis, compared with 16 of 45 (36%) of patients in the control population (P < 0.05). Patients with ulcerative mucositis were found to be three times as likely to develop alpha-hemolytic streptococcal bacteremia as those without ulcerative mucositis (odds ratio=3.02). Both independently and as a cofactor associated with bacteremia, mucositis adversely affected the length of hospital stay (LOS). Of all the patients studied, those with oral ulcerations had a LOS of 34 days, compared with 29 days for patients without oral ulcerations (P < 0.05). Of patients in the study group, those with oral ulcerations stayed in the hospital 6 days longer than patients without oral ulcerations (40 days vs. 34 days, P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Oral ulcerative mucositis is a significant, common, and important risk factor for alpha-hemolytic streptococcal bacteremia in BMT recipients with myelosuppression; it results in longer hospital stay and increased costs.