Background: In patients affected by head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, the onset of severe oral mucositis is a decisive factor in completing concurrent chemo-radiotherapy, and few interventions have demonstrated a modest benefit. The primary aim of this clinical study was to evaluate the role of SAMITAL in reducing the incidence of severe mucositis induced by concurrent chemo-radiotherapy; the secondary aims were the tolerability and patient-reported quality of life measures.
Methods: Patients were randomized to receive SAMITAL granules for oral suspension of 20 mL, four-time daily or matching placebo in a 1:1 fashion using a stratified-block randomization scheme by disease site and type of chemotherapy. The SAMITAL/placebo was dispensed at the baseline visit and at each weekly visit following radiotherapy initiation. Patients were subjected to weekly endoscopic evaluations to assess the presence of mucositis. In addition, patient-reported outcomes were measured.
Results: Among the 116 patients treated with a median total dose of 66 Gy, 59 were randomized to SAMITAL and 57 to placebo. Overall, the incidence of severe mucositis was 51.7%, with 45.8% in the SAMITAL and 57.9% in the placebo arm (OR = 0.6; 95% CI: 0.3-1.3). After chemo-radiotherapy, patients randomized to SAMITAL reported significantly lower xerostomia, coughing and swallowing scores and a better quality of life.
Conclusion: SAMITAL did not significantly reduce the incidence of severe mucositis in all studied populations. However, the lower rate of mucositis, together with a significantly better quality of life, suggested that a clinical benefit existed. This trial is registered with the EU Clinical Trials Register database, number 2012-002046-20, and with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT01941992.
Keywords: SAMITAL; botanical drug; chemo-radiotherapy; head and neck squamous cell carcinoma; oral mucositis; quality of life.