2019 Update: MASCC/ISOO Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Management of Mucositis Secondary to Cancer Therapy

2019    MASCC’s Mucositis Study Group (MSG) has announced the latest update of the MASCC/ISOO Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Management of Mucositis Secondary to Cancer Therapy. An editorial by MSG Chair Sharon Elad, DMD, MSc, and seven articles have just been published (July 2019) in a Special Section of Supportive Care in Cancer (SCC). This is the first set of papers generated as part of this guideline update and it represents several types of interventions for oral mucositis: anti-inflammatory agents; photobiomodulation; vitamins, minerals, and nutritional supplements; and protocols categorized as basic oral care.

An entire paper is dedicated to interventions for the management of gastrointestinal mucositis. The complete set of guidelines on the management of mucositis will be available after a second set of papers is published in a future volume of SCC. These guidelines provide the current evidence-based standard of care for mucositis and represent the benchmark for future trials.

The July Update comprises the following papers. For article access, see the Mucositis Clinical Practice Guidelines.

  • Sharon Elad. The MASCC/ISOO Mucositis Guidelines 2019 Update: introduction. 

  • Vinisha Ranna et al. Development of the MASCC/ISOO Clinical Practice Guidelines for Mucositis: An Overview of the Methods.

  • Yehuda Zadik et al. Systematic Review of Photobiomodulation for the Management of Oral Mucositis in Cancer Patients and Clinical Practice Guidelines.

  • Noam Yarom et al. Systematic Review of Natural and Miscellaneous Agents for the Management of Oral Mucositis in Cancer Patients and Clinical Practice Guidelines. Part 1: Vitamins, Minerals, and Nutritional Supplements.

  • Anura Ariyawardana et al. Systematic Review of Anti-inflammatory Agents for the Management of Oral Mucositis in Cancer Patients and Clinical Practice Guidelines.

  • Catherine H. L. Hong, et al. Systematic Review of Basic Oral Care for the Management of Oral Mucositis in Cancer Patients and Clinical Practice Guidelines.

  • Joanne Bowen et al. The Pathogenesis of Mucositis: Updated Perspectives and Emerging Targets. 

  • Joanne Bowen et al. Systematic Review of Agents for the Management of Cancer Treatment-Related Gastrointestinal Mucositis and Clinical Practice Guidelines.

The Mucositis Guidelines represent a tremendous worldwide research effort to study interventions for mucositis and the creation of a massive body of literature. The MSG includes healthcare professionals from numerous disciplines and the collaboration of physicians, dentists, nurses, psychologists, physical therapists, speech therapists, pharmacists, and basic science researchers. This diversity provides the MSG with a wide range of perspectives and allows for in-depth assessment of the scientific evidence. The current systematic review and guideline update involved a meticulous process of systematic review and analysis of the literature. The rigorous methods used to produce the guidelines are the key to their robustness. Importantly, this guideline update did not only review new literature since 2011 (the cut-off date of the previous guideline update). Rather, the analysis included all publications. The merging of previously published and newly published clinical trials, and analysis of the quality of evidence prior to determining the guideline category, represents a unique addition to the guideline methods and required a tremendous effort. 

Dr.  Sharon Elad, Mucositis Study Group Chair, wishes to convey her thanks to all the MSG members who participated in the guideline update with special thanks to MASCC President, Rajesh Lalla, DDS, PhD, who served as a Chief Consultant, to MSG Vice-Chairs, Paolo Bossi, MD, and Karis Kin-Fong Cheng, PhD, RN, to the Section Heads and Section Co-heads who contributed to the respective guidelines publications, and to MASCC leadership and staff for their support. 

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