Low-level Laser Therapy to Prevent Oral Mucositis in Head and Neck Patients

March 7, 2014 updated by: Instituto Nacional de Cancer, Brazil

Phase III Trial of Low-level Laser Therapy to Prevent Induced Oral Mucositis in Head and Neck Cancer Patients Submitted to Concurrent Chemoradiation

Oral mucositis remains a limiting factor in in head and neck squamous cell carcinomas patients treated with chemoradiation leading to pain, dysphagia, and weight loss. Low-level laser therapy emerges as a promising, preventive therapy of chemoradiation-induced OM. This study was designed to assess the efficacy of Low Level Laser Therapy (LLLT) in reducing the incidence and/or severity of oral mucositis.

Study Overview

Detailed Description

Assuming oral mucositis grade 3 for placebo 0.4 (P0); laser group 0.15 (P1) ; β=0.2; α=0.05, sample size was 94 pts. From Jun 2007 to Dec 2010, 47 laser group and 47 placebo patients bearer of head and neck squamous cell carcinomas of nasopharynx, oropharynx and hypopharynx entered a prospective, randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled, phase III trial. chemoradiotherapy consisted of conventional radiotherapy 70.2 Gray (Gy) (1.8Gy/d, 5 times/wk) + concurrent cisplatin 100 mg/m2 every 3 weeks. The primary end point was the incidence of grade 3-4 oral mucositis. The Low-level laser therapy used daily, was a diode indium phosphide, gallium and aluminum (InGaAlP), 660nm-100 milliwatts (mW)-4 Joules (J)/cm²(DMC, São Carlos, São Paulo, Brazil). Oral mucositis evaluation was done by WHO and Oral Mucositis Assessment Scale (OMAS) scale.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

94

Phase

  • Phase 3

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

      • Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 20231-050
        • Instituto Nacional de Cancer

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 75 years (ADULT, OLDER_ADULT)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age ≥ 18 years
  • Histological diagnosis of squamous cell carcinoma (nasopharynx, oropharynx and hypopharynx)
  • Candidates for surgery or treatment for organ preservation
  • Performance status (PS) of 0 or 1 according to the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG)
  • Indication for radiotherapy and concurrent platinum-based chemotherapy
  • Oral mucosa intact
  • Agree to follow the protocol of oral hygiene
  • Informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients using medication for treatment and or prevention of mucositis
  • Patients incapable of treatment compliance or of performing the protocol of oral hygiene

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: PREVENTION
  • Allocation: RANDOMIZED
  • Interventional Model: PARALLEL
  • Masking: TRIPLE

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
PLACEBO_COMPARATOR: Placebo
Patients in the placebo group received the same treatment during the same time, but in this case the laser tip produced no light.
The placebo (DMC, São Paulo, Brazil) was daily applied by a dentist and touched the mucosa of the lips, right and left buccal mucosa, left and right lateral tongue border, buccal floor and ventral tongue, totaling nine points per region.Patients in the placebo group received the same treatment during the same time, but in this case the laser tip produced no light.
Other Names:
  • Low power laser therapy
  • Low energy laser therapy
EXPERIMENTAL: Low Level Laser Therapy
The investigators used a Low Level Laser Therapy, diode laser (DMC, São Paulo, Brazil) InGaAlP (indium phosphide, gallium and aluminum), with 100mW, 4J/cm ², with an area of 0.24 cm ². The laser was daily applied by a dentist and touched the mucosa of the lips, right and left buccal mucosa, left and right lateral tongue border, buccal floor and ventral tongue, totaling nine points per region.
Diode laser (DMC,São Paulo, Brazil) InGaAlP (indium phosphide, gallium and aluminum), with 100 mW, 4J/cm ², with an area of 0.24 cm ². The laser was daily applied by a dentist and touched the mucosa of the lips, right and left buccal mucosa, left and right lateral tongue border, buccal floor and ventral tongue, totaling nine points per region.
Other Names:
  • Low Power Laser Therapy
  • Low Energy Laser Therapy

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Incidence and / or Severity of Oral Mucositis
Time Frame: 7 weeks
The oral cavities of all patients were evaluated daily, from the first day until the last day of treatment. We used the scales of mucositis of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Oral Mucositis Assessment Scale (OMAS) and a visual analogue scale (VAS) for pain assessment.
7 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Oral Mucositis Survival Free, Pain, Opioid Treatment, Hospitalization, Treatment Interruption, Treatment Delay, Patient Weight Loss, Nasogastric Tube or of a Gastrostomy.
Time Frame: 7 weeks
Oral mucositis survival free, pain, opioid treatment, hospitalization, treatment interruption, treatment delay, patient weight loss, nasogastric tube or of a gastrostomy.The oral cavities of all patients were evaluated, from the first day to the last day of treatment.
7 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Heliton S Antunes, DDS, PhD, Instituto Nacional de Cancer, Brazil
  • Study Director: Carlos G Ferreira, MD, PhD, Instituto Nacional de Cancer, Brazil

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

June 1, 2007

Primary Completion (ACTUAL)

June 1, 2008

Study Completion (ACTUAL)

December 1, 2010

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 20, 2011

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 22, 2011

First Posted (ESTIMATE)

September 23, 2011

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (ESTIMATE)

April 11, 2014

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 7, 2014

Last Verified

February 1, 2013

More Information

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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