Efficacy of photobiomodulation therapy in the management of oral mucositis in patients with head and neck cancer: A systematic review and meta‐analysis of randomized controlled trials

作者：Bin Shen, Yaoying Zhou, Dongping Wu, Jianjiang Liu · 发表于：Head & Neck · 年份：2024 · DOI：10.1002/hed.27655 · 被引用次数：21 · 研究领域：Oral health in cancer treatment、Head and Neck Cancer Studies、Laser Applications in Dentistry and Medicine

Abstract Numerous studies have examined the effectiveness of photobiomodulation therapy (PBMT) in reducing chemoradiotherapy (CRT)‐induced oral mucositis (OM) in patients with head and neck cancer (HNC). Despite this, there is an urgent need to update the meta‐analyses on this topic. This meta‐analysis aims to explore the impact of PBMT on CRT‐induced OM in these patients. We conducted a systematic search in PubMed, Embase, Cochrane, LILACS, and Web of Science from January 2000 to October 2023. This search focused on randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that assessed the effects of PBMT on CRT‐induced OM. The study included a total of 14 RCTs encompassing 869 patients with HNC. The incidence of OM in the PBMT group was significantly lower from the second week onwards compared to the control group (RR = 0.49, CI = 0.25–0.97, I 2 = 71%, p = 0.04), and this was present until the seventh week (RR = 0.77, CI = 0.61–0.99, I 2 = 89%, p = 0.04). Furthermore, the occurrence of severe mucositis in the PBMT group decreased from the third week (RR = 0.51, CI = 0.29–0.90, I 2 = 12%, p = 0.02) until the conclusion of the intervention (RR = 0.45, CI = 0.24–0.85, I 2 = 80%, p = 0.01). Additionally, PBMT showed beneficial effects in alleviating OM‐related pain (WMD = −1.09, 95% CI = −1.38 to −0.880, I 2 = 13%, p < 0.00001). The use of He‐Ne or InGaAlP lasers with a power range of 10–25 mW demonstrated the most favorable outcomes in preventing and treating OM. PBMT has shown considerable eff...