Objective
Our objective was to review the first 20 years of photobiomodulation (PBM) clinical
studies for oral mucositis (OM) mitigation.
Study Design
A scoping review screened controlled clinical studies. The PBM devices, protocols,
and clinical outcomes were analyzed.
Results
Seventy-five studies met the inclusion criteria. The first study dated from 1992,
and the term “PBM” was first published in 2017. Public services, placebo-controlled
randomized trials, and patients with head and neck chemoradiation were predominant
among included studies. Prophylactic red intraoral laser protocols were mostly used.
Comparing the outcomes of all protocols was unfeasible due to missing treatment parameters
and nonhomogeneous measurements.
Conclusions
The main barrier to optimizing clinical protocols of PBM for OM was the lack of standardization
in clinical studies. Although PBM use is now globally present in oncology settings
and generally marked by good outcomes reported, additional randomized clinical trials
with well-described methods are necessary.
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: December 27, 2022
Accepted:
December 20,
2022
Received in revised form:
December 12,
2022
Received:
July 29,
2022
Identification
Copyright
© 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
