The use of low-energy laser (LEL) for the prevention of chemotherapy- and/or radiotherapy-induced oral mucositis in cancer patients: results from two prospective studies

Background Low-energy laser (LEL) treatment has been suggested as an effective and safe method to prevent and/or treat oral mucositis induced by chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy; however, it has not gained wide acceptance so far. Materials and methods We conducted two clinical trials testing the LEL technique: firstly, as a secondary prevention in patients with various solid tumors treated with chemotherapy who all developed severe mucositis after a previous identical chemotherapy and, secondly, as therapeutic intervention (compared to sham illumination in a randomized way) in patients with hematological tumors receiving intensive chemotherapy and having developed low-grade oral mucositis. Results We entered 26 eligible patients in the first study and 36 were randomized in the second study. The success rate was 81% (95%CI = 61–93%) when LEL was given as a preventive treatment. In the second study, in patients with existing lesions, the therapeutic success rate was 83% (95%CI = 59–96%), which was significantly different from the success rate reached in the sham-treated patients (11%; 95%CI = 1–35%); the time to development of grade 3 mucositis was also significantly shorter in the sham-treated patients ( p