A common side effect of cancer chemotherapy is the development of sores in the mouth, esophagus and in the stomach. The sores lead to pain when eating and swallowing, stomach aches and leaves the patient vulnerable to infection. All together, the effects of cancer sores significantly decrease patient quality of life through causing pain and leading to difficulty eating. Patients suffering from cancer sores may receive a number of treatments to alleviate symptoms.
Analgesic Medication
One way to treat cancer mouth sores is through the use of analgesic medicine, or painkillers, according to ChemoCare.com. Mouth sores have an extremely debilitating effect on a cancer patient, since the pain associated with eating leads to anorexia and can lead to malnourishment over time. The use of painkilling medication allows patients to eat with less pain and therefore lead a higher quality of life. Patients may use topical painkillers in the form of medicated mouthwashes or may receive systemic medications like pills or injections. Analgesic treatment may be used in combination with other drugs to help treat cancer mouth sores.
Oral Cooling
Oral cryotherapy, or oral cooling, is another possible treatment for cancer mouth sores. The treatment can involve placing ice in the mouth or holding cool fluids like water in the mouth to cool the tissues in the lining of the oral cavity. A study published in the "Journal of Clinical Nursing" in 2010 indicates that the use of oral cooling decreases the severity of mouth sore development and that the application of cooling agents during chemotherapy can prevent the development of mouth sores following treatment. Oral cooling may prove useful in combination with other therapies to treat mouth sores as a side effect of cancer therapy.
Growth Factor Drugs
Some drugs can treat mouth sores due to cancer therapy by directly stimulating mouth sore healing. Drugs containing specific growth factors can signal to cells within the lining of the oral cavity and promote cell proliferation and wound healing. As a result, existing mouth sores begin to heal, while the drug treatment also prevents the development of future sores. Kepivance, also called palifermin, is a growth factor drug used to treat severe cancer mouth sores. Biovitrin, the drug's manufacturer, indicates that the use of growth factor drugs can decrease the severity of mouth sores by almost 70 percent, improving the patient's quality of life.
