Chemotherapy-induced oral complications in leukemic patients.

Unlabelled: The adverse effects of chemotherapy frequently involve the oral cavity, but the severity of oral complications caused by different chemotherapy protocols is unknown.

Objective: To compare the frequency of oral complications in patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia treated with the GBTLI-93 and BFM protocols.

Patients And Methods: Twenty patients ranging in age from 2 to 13 years were submitted to visual and tactile examination of the teeth, periodontium and soft tissues on the day of admission and over the 3 weeks following the first phase of chemotherapy.

Results: No significant difference in the proportion of patients with complications was observed between the two protocols over the 3 weeks. Complications were more frequent immediately after administration of the chemotherapeutic agents, with a gradual decline over the following 3 weeks.

Conclusions: Oral complications occur in patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia irrespective of the chemotherapy protocol used for treatment, with a higher frequency being observed in the first week after the beginning of antineoplastic therapy.