Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0011168 (dysphagia)
 15,644 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Oral mucositis is a common complication in cancer patients receiving chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy. Nearly all patients undergoing myeloablative therapy for stem-cell or bone marrow transplantation experience oral mucositis. Those receiving radiation therapy for head and neck cancer are at especially high risk. However,this toxicity also occurs with standard-dose chemotherapy and can be seen in association with treatment of many other tumor types. Oral mucositis significantly complicates cancer treatment by contributing to pain, dysphagia, weight loss, depression, higher risk of infection, decreased quality of life, and increased healthcare costs. This review summarizes the impact of oral mucositis in patients with cancer, including its pathogenesis, diagnosis, financial implications, and management. Current treatment guidelines are presented, and novel targeted therapies are discussed. Newer agents, such as palifermin (recombinant human keratinocyte growth factor-1), have been shown in clinical trials to reduce the incidence and severity of oral mucositis,and Saforis (an oral glutamine suspension) may also promote recovery from mucosal damage following chemotherapy or radiation therapy. Continued advances in understanding the pathobiology of oral mucositis should lead to the development of additional agents for its effective prevention and treatment in patients undergoing cancer therapy.
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PMID:Diagnosis and management of oral mucositis. 1736 29

Mucositis occurs in over 90% of patients undergoing stem cell transplantation for hematological malignancies. It is associated with significant morbidity in the form of pain, dysphagia and decreased oral intake, as well as mortality. Palifermin is a recombinant keratinocyte growth factor that has been shown to be effective in decreasing the incidence, severity and duration of mucositis in Phase III trials. Improvement in patient functioning during hematopoietic stem cell transplants has also been reported. This review deals with the preclinical data and the clinical trials that have been carried out with this agent in patients with hematologic malignancies. In addition limited Phase I and II data on solid tumors is available and will be included.
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PMID:Keratinocyte growth factor. 1945 12

Mucositis is one of the most significant toxicities in cancer patients undergoing cytotoxic treatment. It can have a negative impact on both quality of life and health economics. Severe oral mucositis can contribute to hospitalization, need for narcotic analgesics, total parentral nutrition, suboptimal delivery of anti-neoplastic treatment, and morbidity and mortality. Palifermin, a recombinant derivative of human keratinocyte growth factor, is the first active agent approved by the FDA for the prevention of severe oral mucositis in patients undergoing haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Several studies have also shown significant reduction in the incidence, severity and/or duration of oral mucositis in other high-risk settings such as concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CT/RT) for patients with head and neck cancer, and use of mucotoxic chemotherapeutic agents such as doxorubicin in sarcoma and fluorouracil for the treatment of colorectal cancer. The reduction in mucositis has translated into amelioration of symptoms and improvement in daily functioning as measured by patient-reported outcome in multiple studies. The clinical response to palifermin appears to be related in part to epithelial proliferation and mucosal thickening. Palifermin also has other potential clinical applications including the acceleration of immune reconstitution and inhibition of graft-versus-host disease in patients undergoing HSCT, and mitigation of dysphagia in lung cancer patients treated with concurrent CT/RT. Palifermin is generally well tolerated with mild-to-moderate skin and oral adverse events. Future studies may expand the use of palifermin into other areas that would benefit from its cytoprotective and regenerative effects.
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PMID:Clinical applications of palifermin: amelioration of oral mucositis and other potential indications. 2425 54