Intervention therapy of chemoradiotherapy-induced oral mucositis

Oral mucositis is a common and serious complication secondary to chemo-radiotherapy for head and neck cancer that has a high morbidity and affects the treatment outcomes. Currently available interven-tions such as three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy and intensity-modulated radiation therapy are directed at minimizing local radiation exposure and providing symptomatic relief. Recently, a number of new treatment mo-dalities have been expected to be introduced for reduction of severity and duration of mucositis, such as kerati-nocyto growth factor, amifostine, zinc sulfate,anti-inflammation agents,glutamine,etc. These efforts are likely to improve the life quality of cancer patients significantly. Key words: Oral mucositis;  Radiotherapy;  Chemotherapy