ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Radiation-induced stomatitis is one of the adverse effects of total body irradiation(TBI). We examined the usefulness of oral polaprezinc as a preventive drug for stomatitis. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The present study was conducted with 19 patients who were diagnosed with hematologic malignancy and who underwent TBI as pretreatment for bone marrow transplantation, peripheral blood stem transplantation, or cord blood stem cell transplantation. Eleven patients ingested the suspension of polaprezinc and 2% carmellose sodium (carboxymethylcellulose sodium: CMC) beginning the day before TBI(P-CMC group), while the other eight patients did not ingest P-CMC(control group). The severity of stomatitis was assessed in each group during a four-weeks period. RESULTS: Stomatitis (Grade: > or = 3) developed in one of 11 patients in the polaprezinc group and in 4 of 8 patients in the control group(P = 0.046). The times at which stomatitis development ranged between weeks 1 and 2 after the onset of TBI in the two groups. No adverse reaction owing to the ingestion of P-CMC was observed. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggested the efficacy and safety of polaprezinc as a preventive drug for radiation-induced stomatitis.
