A Preliminary Study of Oral Manifestations in Cancer Patients Receiving Chemotherapy at Basrah Tumor Center

Abstract

Oral complications can be detected during chemotherapy and are the main side effects that may directly affect anti-cancer therapy, even causing septicemia in some cases. Oral cavity health is a great reflection of an individual’s systemic condition. This research was done in order to evaluate changes in oral manifestations in patients with cancer treated at the oncology and hematology department of Al Sadir Teaching Hospital, from November 2021 until May 2022. The study comprised patients above the age of 15 who were willing to participate and cooperate in clinical evaluations. The study design was longitudinal, 36 patients were evaluated and monitored for 6 months after the initiation of chemotherapy. The examinations were done in a hospital bed with artificial lights and a mirror. Any abnormal changes in the oral mucosa were examined. Twenty-four patients were male (67 %) and 12 female (33 %), ranging from 15 to 55 years old, and weight from 46 to 120. Sixty-four percent of patients included in the study were suffering from oral mucositis (OM) after chemotherapy treatment, and around 36 % of patients showed no effects. The results show an increase in the number of ulcerative cases (38 %), followed by candidiasis (17 %), xerostomia (8 %), and 36 % showed no effects. The researchers noticed that age of the patients was highly significantly correlated with the presence of OM, followed by weight and gender. Based on this finding, the results suggest that most male gastric cancer patients aged 36-45 and weight between 66 to 75 kg suffer ulceration in the oral cavity after receiving chemotherapy. Therefore, oral complications can be avoided by maintaining good oral health, and by minimizing outbreaks of infection. It is also possible to obtain an early diagnosis and treatment of this oral complication, preventing it from following a more severe clinical course that may adversely affect an individual’s treatment. This finding requires a dental surgeon to be on the multidisciplinary cancer treatment team.