Patients develop a number of oral complications during
cancer treatments. Oral bacteria are associated with the onset of
dental focal infections and the progression of
oral mucositis.
Dental focal infections are frequently associated with the systemic onset of
bacteremia,
sepsis, and
pneumonia. The degeneration of oral function with these complications may become an obstacle to
cancer treatments. Although comprehensive oral management, including oral care, the removal of
dental focal infections, and improvements in oral function with
dentures, is conducted for
cancer patients in Japan, few studies have assessed its efficacy.The aim of the present study was to investigate the incidence of dental/oral complications in
cancer patients with perioperative oral managements (POMs) based on a large number of case series with a multicenter retrospective analysis.The medical records of
cancer patients with POMs were retrospectively reviewed and the incidence of oral complications and efficacy of oral management were investigated.A total of 2744
cancer patients with POMs (1684 males and 1080 females, mean age 65.9 ± 13.0 years) were included and investigated in the present study. Among these patients, 2097 (76.4%) started POM before the initiation of
cancer treatments, with 2130 (77.6%) receiving oral care only and 391 (14.2%) being subjected to invasive treatments, such as
tooth extraction. The incidence of
dental focal infections during the period of
cancer treatments was 8.2%. The most frequent
infection was acute
periodontitis, including alveolar
abscesses (112 patients, 4.1%). The incidence of grade 2 and 3
oral mucositis was 2.8%. Prolonged
fever was observed in 113 patients (4.1%), with 7 having
dental focal infections (6.2%). These incidence rates were lower than those reported previously.Based on analyses of a large number of patients, the present results support the efficacy of oral management in
cancer patients. However, further studies are needed to establish adequate oral management guidelines for
cancer patients.