Abstract
Background and purpose: Mucositis is a well-known side effect of chemotherapy that may affect
patient's ability to eat, causing pain, and, sometimes, leading to chemotherapy interruption with the
resultant risk to patient´s life. The purpose of this review is to analyze the latest evidence regarding chemotherapy-induced oral mucositis and its impact on patients with breast cancer regarding its appearance and effect on quality of life, being a side effect that can compromise the continuation of treatments.
Methods: We have carried out a bibliographic search in different databases with the quest strategy "mucositis AND chemotherapy AND breast cancer”, excluding those results regarding radiotherapy or other types of cancer.
Results: There are few studies related to mucositis in breast cancer, which is paradoxical considering the high incidence of this cancer in women. Considering its pathophysiological mechanism, studies consider that the best treatment is the prevention of stomatitis. Once established, analgesia is essential, associating specific treatments such as oral rinse antibiotics or antifungals, followed by corticosteroid therapy, cryotherapy or the use of low energy laser therapy, among other proposals. However, there is no clearly established management algorithm.
Conclusions: Oral mucositis in breast cancer patients may have an influence negatively on therapeutic intervention and survival rates, without having preventive and treatment strategies universally set nowadays. Therefore, more studies regarding oral mucositis focusing on breast cancer are needed considering its impact on the outcome of chemotherapy.
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