OBJECTIVETo investigate the prevalence and treatment of oral mucositis caused by concurrent chemoradiotherapy and/or molecular targeted therapy in the patients with advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.

METHODSA retrospective study of the incidence and treatment of oral mucositis was performed in 179 patients (155 male and 24 female;124 patients at stage III and 55 patients at stage IV) receiving concurrent chemotherapy and (or) molecular targeted therapy between November 2007 and November 2010. Grade I, II, III and IV oral mucositis occurred respectively in 49, 50, 67 and 13 patients. All the patients received oral mucositis prophylaxis. After the occurrence of oral mucositis, conventional treatment of mucositis combined with quinolone antibiotics were applied.

RESULTSOf the patients, 99 patients with grade I or II and 4 patients with grade III oral mucositis were effectively managed by conventional treatment; 76 patients with grade III or IV oral mucositis were also significantly controled by conventional treatment plus antibiotics. After the treatments, all patients with oral mucositis were under control, with the decrease in the grade of oral mucositis, the reduction of oral pain and the improvement in ability to eat. None of them had radiation treatment breaks.

CONCLUSIONSCombined modality therapy can effectively control chemoradiation-induced oral mucositis in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, grade I and II oral mucositis were cured by conventional treatment and quinolone antibiotics play a key role in the treatments for grade III and IV oral mucositis.