Prognosis
In most cases, the lesions of oral mucositis (OM) will eventually heal, but time to healing depends on the nature and duration of cancer therapy, and can be increased by complicating conditions (e.g., candidiasis or herpes infection). As a general rule, larger and more extensive lesions will take longer to heal.
Chemotherapy-induced OM normally heals within 2 to 4 weeks after the end of chemotherapy, but will often recur at subsequent cycles of chemotherapy.[2] Lesions may last longer in patients receiving high-dose chemotherapy prior to hematopoietic stem cell transplantation; in these patients, resolution of mucositis usually coincides with recovery of neutrophil counts (although this temporal relationship may not be causative).
Radiation therapy-induced OM progressively increases in severity with the dose of radiation therapy, and then begins to heal. Depending on the extent of the lesions, complete healing may occur within 3 to 10 weeks after the end of the radiation therapy schedule.[2]
More severe OM is known to be associated with a greater risk of hospitalization, use of opioids, weight loss, and feeding tube placement.[10]
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