Title

Evaluation of oral mucositis severity and management in head and neck cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy: A prospective study

Authors

K.M. Paijas¹, Punit G Naidu², Onteru Pradeep³*, Heena Dixit⁴, Deepak Sharma⁴, Rahul Tiwari⁵ & Anil Managutti⁵

Affiliation

¹Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology, Al Azhar Dental College, Thodupuzha, Kerala, India; ²Department of Periodontology, Index Institute of Dental Sciences, Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India; ³Department of Public Health Dentistry, Father Colombo Institute of Medical Sciences, Warangal, Telangana, India; ⁴Department of Hospital Administration, Index Institute, Malwanchal University, Index City, Nemawar Road, Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India; ⁵Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Narsinhbhai Patel Dental College and Hospital, Sankalchand Patel University, Visnagar, Gujarat, India; *Corresponding author

Email

KM Paijas - E-mail: iampaijas@gmail.com
Punit G Naidu - E-mail: punitnaidu07@gmail.com
Onteru Pradeep - E-mail: pradeep.onteru393@gmail.com
Heena Dixit - E-mail: drheenatiwari@gmail.com
Deepak Sharma - E-mail: heena16.d@gmail.com
Rahul Tiwari - E-mail: drrahulvctiwari@gmail.com
Anil Managutti - E-mail: dranilman12@gmail.com

Article Type

Research Article

Date

Received July 1, 2025; Revised July 31, 2025; Accepted July 31, 2025, Published July 31, 2025

Abstract

Oral mucositis is a frequent and debilitating side effect in patients undergoing radiotherapy for head and neck cancers, often leading to pain, nutritional compromise and treatment interruptions. A prospective observational research was conducted on 60 patients undergoing radiotherapy, with or without chemotherapy. 46.7% of patients developed Grade 3–4 mucositis. Severe mucositis was significantly associated with low BMI (p = 0.031), hemoglobin <11 g/dL (p = 0.007), tumor site (p = 0.016) and concurrent chemoradiotherapy (p = 0.001). Mucositis severity is influenced by nutritional and treatment-related factors. Early identification and targeted supportive interventions can improve clinical outcomes and reduce treatment disruptions.

Keywords

Head and neck cancer; oral mucositis; radiotherapy; chemoradiotherapy; mucosal toxicity

Citation

Paijas et al. Bioinformation 21(7): 2104-2107 (2025)

Edited by

Rashmi Daga

ISSN

0973-2063

Publisher

Biomedical Informatics

License

This is an Open Access article which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. This is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.