Slight temperature increases of the oral mucus membranes early in a head and neck cancer patient’s chemotherapy and radiation therapy (chemoradiotherapy) treatment is a predictor of severe mucositis later in treatment, according to a study presented at the Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancer Symposium, sponsored by AHNS, ASCO, ASTRO and SNM.

Mucositis, or mouth sores, is a common side effect of chemoradiotherapy for head and neck cancer that is painful and can be very severe. Physicians cannot predict which patients will have mild mucositis or severe mucositis that would require narcotic pain medication, nutritional support and/or feeding tubes.

Researchers in this study hypothesized that using sensitive thermal imaging technology to measure temperature changes of less than one-tenth of a degree early in treatment could predict the severity of mucositis later in treatment. This knowledge could allow for early intervention and potential changes in therapy using a technology that is simple, harmless and non-invasive.

Patients receiving chemoradiotherapy underwent baseline and weekly thermal imaging of their oral mucus membranes. All patients displayed an increase in temperature and severe mucositis was found in 53 percent of patients.

“If we could predict which patients were going to suffer the greatest toxicity, we could proactively make changes to their care that could ameliorate or prevent side effects,” Ezra Cohen, MD, lead author of the study and co-director of the head and neck cancer program at The University of Chicago in Chicago, said. “Ultimately, we could identify the patients at higher risk of severe complications from treatment.”

Source: ASTRO