A network meta-analysis in comparing prophylactic treatments of radiotherapy-induced oral mucositis for patients with head and neck cancers receiving radiotherapy.

OBJECTIVES

The objective of this network meta-analysis is to optimize the prophylactic treatment for radiotherapy-induced oral mucositis in patients with head and neck cancer (HNSCC) receiving postoperative or definitive radiotherapy with or without chemotherapy.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

We searched electronic databases to identify all eligible randomized clinical trials on oral mucositis. The endpoint was grade 0-2 oral mucositis. Odds ratios (OR) and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) were extracted. Network meta-analysis was performed using the frequentist approach to conduct multiple treatment comparisons.

RESULTS

In total, 57 trials with 5261 patients were eligible for this study. Both direct and network meta-analysis revealed that low-level laser additional to standard oral care (SOC) was better than most of the other treatments and achieved the highest effect on grade 0-2 oral mucositis, with a surface under the cumulative ranking curve (SUCRA) of 95.8%; however, SOC with or without placebo had worse effect than most of the other treatments and was ranked worst (SUCRA = 0.4%). Moreover, sensitivity analysis performed after we had combined the SOC and placebo groups (non-medication treatment, NMT) yielded similar results, with SUCRA of 91.3% and 3.5% for low-level laser and NMT, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Low-level laser additional to SOC may be a more effective prophylactic treatment for reducing severe radiotherapy-induced oral mucositis; SOC alone is insufficient for patients with HNSCC receiving postoperative or definitive radiotherapy with or without chemotherapy.