Prevalence of osteonecrosis of the jaw and oral characteristics of oncologic patients treated with bisphosphonates at the General Hospital of Mexico.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the prevalence and oral characteristics of cancer patients treated with bisphosphonates in the oncology and maxillofacial prosthesis departments of the General Hospital of Mexico between 2011 and 2013. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study included patients who received prior treatment with bisphosphonates; an intraoral examination was performed by 2 standardized examiners. RESULTS: The prevalence of bisphosphonate-related necrosis in 75 patients was 2.6%; the most common malignancy was breast cancer (84.0%), followed by prostate cancer (16.0%). Exostosis was present in 9.3% of patients and the mean Decayed, Missing, Filled Teeth index was 4.64; 44.0% of the study group had a Community Periodontal Index value between 2 and 2.9 (mean, 0.60). CONCLUSION: A detailed intraoral assessment must be performed before initiating treatment with bisphosphonates to identify risk factors for osteonecrosis.

Tratamiento de la mucositis oral en pacientes oncológicos: revisión de la literatura y experiencia en el Hospital General de México / Management of oral mucositis in patients with cancer: review of literature and experience in the General Hospital of Mexico

La mucositis es la reacción secundaria a la quimioterapia y/o radioterapia, existen múltiples opciones terapéuticas para tratar esta complicación, no se cuenta con un tratamiento definido por lo que el objetivo de esta revisión es el de agrupar las distintas maneras de abordar la mucositis oral y su efecto así como compartir la experiencia que se tiene en el Hospital General de México. Dentro de los tratamientos más utilizados se encuentra el empleo de fármacos protectores de mucosa, crioterapia, factores de crecimiento entre otros, el efecto deseado es retrasar la aparición de la lesión así como disminuir la severidad de las mismas, no todas las opciones se encuentran disponibles para el personal médico por lo que se deben de conocer las distintas opciones terapéuticas y la solidez científica con la que cuentan.

Mucositis is the secondary reaction to chemotherapy and / or radiotherapy, there are multiple therapeutic alternatives to treat this complication, there doesn't exist a specific therapy so the aim of this review is to coordinate the various ways of treating oral mucositis and its effect and to share the experience at the General Hospital of Mexico. Within the most widely used treatments is the use of mucosal protective drugs, cryotherapy, growth factors, among others, the main effect is to delay the onset of injury and decrease the severity of them, not all options are available for medical staff so they must know the different Iptherapeutic alternatives and the scientific soundness for each option.