Incidence of acute oral sequelae in pediatric patients undergoing chemotherapy.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this literature review was to assess the incidence of acute oral sequelae in children receiving cytotoxic therapy.

METHODS

The dental literature was searched using 3 electronic databases--Cochrane, Medline, and Embase--from 1966 to 2006 and was limited to articles reporting acute oral sequelae in patients receiving chemotherapy with or without radiotherapy and to individuals younger than 20 years old.

RESULTS

Nineteen articles fulfilled the inclusion criteria and were included in this review. The overall incidence of acute oral sequelae in children was 54%. The incidence of oral sequelae was higher in children who received myeloablative therapy prior to bone marrow transplantation compared to those who received only chemotherapy with or without radiotherapy.

CONCLUSIONS

The lock of consensus on what constitutes acute oral sequelae and on universally accepted assessment tools complicates the determination of incidence. Acute oral sequelae are frequent in children and the incidence appears to be comparable to adults.