• Daniela Alterio, Barbara Alicja Jereczek-Fossa, Gabriele Fulvio Zuccotti, Maria Elena Leon, Emanuela Omodeo Sale, Marcella Pasetti, Tiziana Modena, Paola Perugini, Luigi Mariani, and Roberto Orecchia.
• Department of Radiation Therapy of the European Institute of Oncology, Milan, Italy. daniela.alterio@ieo.it
• Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys. 2006 Feb 1;64(2):392-5.

PurposeWe performed a phase II study to assess feasibility, pain relief, and toxicity of a tetracaine-based oral gel in the treatment of radiotherapy (RT)-induced mucositis.Methods And MaterialsFifty patients treated with RT for head-and-neck cancer with clinical evidence of acute oral mucositis of grade>or=2 were scheduled to receive the tetracaine gel. A questionnaire evaluating the effect of the gel was given to all subjects.ResultsIn 38 patients (79.2%), a reduction in oral cavity pain was reported. Thirty-four patients (82.9%) reported no side effect. Seventy-one percent of patients had no difficulties in gel application. Unpleasant taste of the gel and interference with food taste were noticed in 5 (12%) and 16 patients (39%), respectively. Planned RT course was interrupted less frequently in patients who reported benefit from gel application than in patients who did not (p=0.014). None of the patients who experienced pain relief needed a nasogastric tube, opposite to the patients who did not report any benefit from gel application (p=0.001).ConclusionTetracaine oral gel administration seemed feasible and safe while reducing RT-induced mucositis-related oral pain in a sizeable proportion of treated head-and-neck cancer patients. A trial designed to compare efficacy of this gel vs. standard treatment is warranted.

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