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Impact of photobiomodulation for prevention of oral mucositis on the quality of life of patients with head and neck cancer: a systematic review

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Abstract

The aim of this study was to perform a systematic review to evaluate the impact of photobiomodulation therapy (PBMT) for the prevention of oral mucositis (OM) on the quality of life (QoL) of patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) undergoing radiation therapy. This study followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis guidelines. The search strategy was performed in five electronic databases (Cochrane, Embase, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science). The included studies assessed the QoL of patients undergoing radiation therapy (RT) for HNC and undergoing PBMT for the management of OM. Seven articles met the eligibility criteria. Data extraction was performed in the selected studies including the PBMT parameters (active medium, application procedure, wavelength, fluence, power, irradiance, irradiation time, spot size, energy per point, schedule of irradiation, and total energy). The included studies were qualitatively analyzed, and descriptive analyses were performed. Also, summary results were evaluated for group comparison analysis. All included studies confirmed a decrease in the QoL of the patients that developed OM throughout the RT progress when compared to baseline. Of the informed cases, most of the patients who received PBMT showed grades 1 and 2 OM, while the control group showed more individuals with severe forms of OM (grades 3 and 4). In this sense, patients submitted to PBMT reported better QoL at the end of the treatment compared with the control group. PBMT used for the management of OM preserves the QoL of patients with head and neck cancer.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Oral Pathology, School of Dentistry, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil

    Ana Rita Potrich, Bruna Barcelos Só, Lauren Frenzel Schuch, Felipe Martins Silveira, Manoela Domingues Martins & Marco Antonio Trevizani Martins

  2. Molecular Pathology Area, School of Dentistry, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay

    Lauren Frenzel Schuch & Felipe Martins Silveira

  3. Departament of Oral Pathology, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brasil

    Vivian Petersen Wagner

  4. Stomatology Department, A.C. Camargo Cancer Center, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil

    Fábio de Abreu Alves

  5. Dental Oncology Service, Instituto do Câncer do Estado de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil

    Ana Carolina Prado-Ribeiro

  6. Department of Oral Diagnosis, Piracicaba Dental School, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Piracicaba, SP, Brazil

    Ana Carolina Prado-Ribeiro & Alan Roger Santos-Silva

  7. Division of Oral Medicine and Dentistry, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Department of Oral Medicine, Infection and Immunity, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Boston, MA, USA

    Nathaniel Simon Treister

  8. Department of Oral Medicine, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre (HCPA/UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

    Manoela Domingues Martins & Marco Antonio Trevizani Martins

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  1. Ana Rita Potrich
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Contributions

Ana Rita Potrich: conceptualization, data curation, formal analysis, methodology, writing—original draft. Bruna Barcelos Só: conceptualization, data curation, formal analysis, methodology, writing—original draft. Lauren Frenzel Schuch: conceptualization, methodology, supervision, writing—review and editing. Felipe Martins Silveira: conceptualization, methodology, supervision, writing—review and editing. Vivian Petersen Wagner: methodology, formal analysis, Writing—review and editing. Fábio de Abreu Alves: writing—review and editing. Alan Roger Santos-Silva: writing—review amd editing. Ana Carolina Prado-Ribeiro: writing—review and editing. Nathaniel S.Treister: writing—review and editing. Manoela Domingues Martins: conceptualization, formal analysis, methodology, project administration, resources, supervision, writing—review and editing. Marco Antonio Trevizani Martins: conceptualization, formal analysis, methodology, project administration, resources, supervision, writing—review and editing.

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Correspondence to Manoela Domingues Martins.

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Nathaniel S. Treister would like to disclose that he serves as a consultant for MuReva Phototherapy Incorporated. Manoela D. Martins would like to disclose that she serves on Azena Medical as a consultant.

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Potrich, A.R., Só, B.B., Schuch, L.F. et al. Impact of photobiomodulation for prevention of oral mucositis on the quality of life of patients with head and neck cancer: a systematic review. Lasers Med Sci 39, 1 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10103-023-03940-w

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