Assessment of Thyme Honey Oral Gel for the Prevention of Adriamycin and Cyclophosphamide Chemotherapy-Induced Oral Mucositis in Patients With Breast Cancer Publisher Pubmed

Summary: Is thyme honey the solution for chemotherapy-induced oral mucositis? Findings suggest it reduces incidence & severity—promising for patient quality of life! #CancerCare #OralHealth

Jahanbani Mazraeh E¹ ; Sadighi S² ; Manifar S³ ; Bakhshandeh H⁴ ; Rajabi M^{1, 5}
Source: Supportive Care in Cancer Published:2023

Abstract

Purpose: Oral mucositis (OM) is a common complication of cancer treatment that has an impact on a patient’s quality of life and the outcome of cancer therapy. This trial evaluated the effect of thyme honey oral gel for the prevention of chemotherapy-induced OM. Methods: One hundred ten breast cancer patients who received their first cycle of chemotherapy with adriamycin (60 mg/m2) and cyclophosphamide (600 mg/m2) were randomly recruited into two groups: group A were patients who followed general oral hygiene recommendations and rinsing saline 3 times a day, and group B were patients with similar protocol but supplied with our formulated oral gel to be applied 2 to 4 times a day. Patients were assessed by the World Health Organization (WHO) oral mucositis grading scales and self-assessment daily questionnaire. Results: The use of thyme honey was associated with diminishing incidence of OM grade ≥ 2 (95% CI, 0.12 to 0.90; P = 0.030), duration of OM (− 3.36 days; 95% CI, − 5.50 to − 1.22; P = 0.037) and delayed occurrence of OM grade ≥ 2 (95% CI, 0.10 to 0.80; P = 0.017). Conclusion: Thyme honey can be considered as a prophylactic agent for OM and decrease the severity of its symptoms. Trial registrations: This protocol was registered at the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials: registration number IRCT201506063106N25, on June 12, 2015; approved by the institutional review board at the Deputy of Research, Pharmaceutical Sciences Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran; and approved by the Ethics Committee of Medical Researches of Pharmaceutical Sciences Branch of Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran—reference number 5936, on August 17, 2014. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.