A worldwide coalition of researchers and clinicians has agreed that light therapy is among the most effective interventions for the prevention of oral mucositis, painful ulcers in the mouth resulting from cancer therapy.
The new guidelines from the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer (MASCC) and International Society of Oral Oncology (ISOO), published on July 8 in the journal Supportive Care in Cancer, present a significant upgrade in care guidelines for adult cancer patients worldwide.
The guidelines recommend photobiomodulation therapy, a form of low-dose light therapy, for the prevention of oral mucositis caused by radiation therapy for head and neck cancer or stem cell transplantation.
“Many cancer patients can now benefit from this treatment, said Praveen Arany, DDS, PhD, co-corresponding author on the paper and assistant professor of oral biology at the University at Buffalo School of Dental Medicine.
Read more at University at Buffalo