The Efficacy of Episil® for Radiation-induced Oral Mucositis in Rats.

OBJECTIVE

Radiation therapy is an indispensable treatment for head and neck cancer; however, the development of radiation-induced oral mucositis causes erythema and ulcers in the patient's oral cavity, resulting in severe pain. The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacy of Episil® in the treatment of radiation-induced oral mucositis.

STUDY

DESIGN

Seventy-six F344 rats were randomly divided into an Episil® group (n=38) and a control group (n=38). After irradiation, the rats were evaluated based on body weight measurements, the oral mucositis index (OMI), tissue myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity, and intraoral bacteria counts.

RESULTS

The mean ratio of body weight change in the Episil®group was significantly lower than that in the control group. The maximum mean OMI and maximum mean MPO activity did not differ to a statistically significant extent between the Episil®​​​​​​​ and control groups. The mean bacterial count in the Episil®​​​​​​​ group was significantly lower than that in the control group on days 8-12.

CONCLUSIONS

It is hypothesised that Episil®​​​​​​​ prevents bacterial infections and body weight loss, potentially suppressing the aggravation of oral mucositis. It is necessary to investigate the bacterial count, the bacterial environments, oral management and the severity of oral mucositis in clinical trials in future to verify the bacterial prevention effect of Episil®​​​​​​​.