Oral shedding of human herpesviruses in patients undergoing radiotherapy/chemotherapy treatment for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Objective: Opportunistic infections may affect the oral mucosa of patients undergoing radio/chemotherapy through exacerbation of oral mucositis. The aim of this study is to evaluate the oral shedding of all eight human herpesviruses and its possible association with oral mucositis.

Materials And Methods: In this prospective cohort study, we analyzed oral rinse samples, collected weekly, from 20 patients during radiotherapy treatment.