Topical prostaglandin E2 and chemo- and radio-induced oral mucositis.

Oral mucositis is a frequent complication of specific antineoplastic treatments. Mouth lesions have a great impact on the quality of life of cancer patients. Current topical and systemic therapies have not yet achieved completely satisfactory results. We studied the effect of topical use of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) 2.25 mg/day on oral mucositis of 15 chemo- or radio-treated cancer patients. Absolute mean VAS value on mouth pain decreased from 71.2 at TO, to 34.1 at T3 (p<0.001) and to 14.1 at T6 (p<0.001). Objective evaluation according to Miller scale showed significant improvement at day 3 and 6, as well. We suggest that PGE2 could be a useful additional therapeutic agent to palliate oral symptoms.