Oral manifestations in patients undergoing chemotherapy

Abstract

Introduction: chemotherapy is a treatment based on the use of anticancer drugs that induce the death of cancer cells. The literature describes oral lesions may arise as a result of chemotherapy. Objective: to identify the oral manifestations in patients undergoing chemotherapy treated at the reference service in oncology southern state of Ceará - Brazil. Methods: we evaluated 73 patients affected by some type of malignancy and chemotherapy from January of 2013 to December of 2014. The clinical and pathological data such as age, gender, diagnosis of malignancy, types of treatments anticancer chemotherapeutic drug treatment, among others,were obtained from medical records. Were also carried out oral examinations in all subjects of this study by the same examiner specialist in stomatology. Results: of the 73 patients 29 (39.7 %) were male and 44 (60.3 %) females with a mean age of 57.7 years, and 37 (50.7 %) of smokers. Regarding malignancy, the mama was the most prevalent location (35.6 %). The drugs most frequently used in chemotherapy treatment were aredia in 23.3 % of cases (n= 17) and paclitaxel in 17.8 % (n= 13). In the oral manifestations, of the 73 patients studied, 44 (60.2 %) had some type of oral discomfort. Most patients, 77.3 % (n= 34) were diagnosed with xerostomia and 22.7 % (n= 10) were observed mucositis. Conclusion: oral lesions found in patients undergoing chemotherapy were xerostomia and mucositis. Xerostomia being the most prevalent oral pathological condition.

Keywords

• salud bucal
• quimioterapia
• cáncer.