Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Center, Faculty of Pharmacy, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.
Chin J Integr Med. 2012 Aug;18(8):635-40. doi: 10.1007/s11655-012-1183-y. Epub 2012 Aug 2.
In recent years, more head and neck cancer patients have been treated with radiotherapy. Radiation-induced mucositis is a common and dose limiting toxicity of radiotherapy among patients with head and neck cancers. Patients undergoing radiation therapy for head and neck cancer are also at increased risk of developing oral candidiasis. A number of new agents applied locally or systemically to prevent or treat radiation-induced mucositis have been investigated, but there is no widely accepted prophylactic or effective treatment for mucositis. Topical Aloe vera is widely used for mild sunburn, frostbites, and scalding burns. Studies have reported the beneficial effects of Aloe gel for wound healing, mucous membrane protection, and treatment of oral ulcers, in addition to antiinflammatory, immunomudulation, antifungal, scavenging free radicals, increasing collagen formation and inhibiting collagenase. Herein the author postulates that oral Aloe vera mouthwash may not only prevent radiation-induced mucositis by its wound healing and antiinflammatory mechanism, but also may reduce oral candidiasis of patients undergoing head and neck radiotherapy due to its antifungal and immunomodulatory properties. Hence, Aloe vera mouthwash may provide an alternative agent for treating radiation-induced oral mucositis and candidiasis in patients with head and neck cancers.
近年来，越来越多的头颈部癌症患者接受放射治疗。放射性黏膜炎是头颈部癌症患者放射治疗中常见的剂量限制毒性。接受头颈部放射治疗的患者发生口腔念珠菌病的风险也增加。已经研究了许多局部或系统应用的新药物来预防或治疗放射性黏膜炎，但对于黏膜炎还没有广泛接受的预防或有效治疗方法。局部应用的芦荟广泛用于轻度晒伤、冻伤和烫伤。研究报告了芦荟凝胶在伤口愈合、黏膜保护和口腔溃疡治疗方面的有益作用，此外还有抗炎、免疫调节、抗真菌、清除自由基、增加胶原蛋白形成和抑制胶原酶的作用。作者推测，口腔用芦荟洗液不仅可以通过其伤口愈合和抗炎机制来预防放射性黏膜炎，而且由于其抗真菌和免疫调节特性，还可能减少头颈部放疗患者的口腔念珠菌病。因此，芦荟洗液可能为头颈部癌症患者治疗放射性口腔黏膜炎和念珠菌病提供了一种替代药物。
