Background: Acute oral mucositis is a common complication of radiotherapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients.
Objectives: The aim of the study was to observe the effects of recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (rhG-CSF) on radiotherapy-induced oral mucositis in locally advanced NPC patients.
Material and methods: The study involved 64 locally advanced NPC patients that were randomly allocated to receive either rhG-CSF mouthwash (2 μg/mL rhG-CSF; group A, n = 34) or a compounded mouth rinse (10 μg/mL vitamin B12, 0.48 mg/mL gentamicin and 0.04 mg/mL dexamethasone in saline; group B, n = 30) during radiotherapy. Both mouthwashes were used 6 times daily at the onset of oral mucositis, and the treatments continued until the end of all intensity-modulated radiotherapy sessions. Oral mucositis was graded according to the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group acute radiation morbidity scoring criteria. A visual analog scale was used to assess peak mouth pain once a week, and the duration of oral mucositis was recorded.
Results: In comparison with group B, the patients in group A had a significantly lower incidence of oral mucositis of grade 3 or above (38.2% vs 66.7%, p < 0.05) and less peak mucosal pain in the 5th, 6th and 7th weeks of radiotherapy (p < 0.05). group A patients also had shorter durations of oral mucositis (35.1 days vs 39.4 days, p < 0.05) and lower peak swallowing function scores (p < 0.05).
Conclusions: The rhG-CSF mouthwash may be more effective than the compounded mouth rinse in preventing and treating radiotherapy-induced mucositis and mucositis-related pain, and thus improving the quality of life for locally advanced NPC patients. These effects should be further investigated in a prospective controlled study.
Keywords: locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma; oral mucositis; radiotherapy; recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor.