Background & Aims
Oral mucositis (OM) is a complication that occurs in more than 90% of head and neck cancer (HNC) patients receiving radiation therapy (RT), severely impairing the quality of life both long-term and short-term [1-3]. OM causes a wide range of side-effects such as xerostomia, oral discomfort, pain, loss of taste, difficulty speaking, chewing and swallowing [4, 5]. Approximately 85% of HNC patients experience pain associated with OM during treatment, in addition to cancer pain and there is a correlation between mucositis grade and pain intensity, both peaking after 51-60 Gy of radiation [4, 6].
The aim of this study is to analyse the salivary protein profile of HNC patients before the start of RT, after 51-60 Gy of RT and 12 weeks after ended RT and compare it to age- and sex matched controls to identify significantly altered protein intensities and to investigate if there is a connection between differentially expressed proteins and OM grade, experienced pain and quality of life.
Methods
Oral mucositis (OM) is a complication that occurs in more than 90% of head and neck cancer (HNC) patients receiving radiation therapy (RT), severely impairing the quality of life both long-term and short-term [1-3]. OM causes a wide range of side-effects such as xerostomia, oral discomfort, pain, loss of taste, difficulty speaking, chewing and swallowing [4,5]. Approximately 85% of HNC patients experience pain associated with OM during treatment, in addition to cancer pain and there is a correlation between mucositis grade and pain intensity, both peaking after 51-60 Gy of radiation [4,6].
The aim of this study is to analyse the salivary protein profile of HNC patients before the start of RT, after 51-60 Gy of RT and 12 weeks after ended RT and compare it to age- and sex matched healthy controls to identify significantly altered protein intensities and to investigate if there is a connection between differentially expressed proteins and OM grade, experienced pain and quality of life.
Results
The patients reported significantly increased pain and decreased QoL during RT compared to before start of RT. Decreased salivary flow rates were observed during and after RT compared to before start of RT. Analysis of the 2D proteome showed significant differences in the salivary protein profile from patients with HNC during and after RT compared to before start of RT. At baseline, no significant differences were observed between HNC patients and healthy controls. There were 25 proteins that were significantly altered (19 downregulated and 6 upregulated) after 50-60 Gy of RT compared to prior to start of RT.
Conclusions
This study showed proteomics as a powerful tool for the discovery of potential biomarkers for radiation-induced oral mucositis. The results showed that the salivary proteome of HNC patients was significantly altered after receiving 50-60 Gy of RT compared to before the start of RT. The gel images showed a visual increase in the number and intensity of protein spots on the gels after 50-60 Gy of RT compared to before the start of RT. The number of spots then slightly decreased in number and intensity 12 weeks after ended RT, suggesting that the changes could be related to the treatment or complications caused by the treatment.
References
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Presenting Author
Denisse Marginean
Poster Authors
Denisse Marginean
MSc
Linköpings Universitet
Lead Author
Anders Carlsson
PhD student
Lead Author
Anna Peterson
Nurse
Lead Author
Sara Nordström
Nurse
Lead Author
Lovisa Farnebo
MD
Lead Author
Anne Söderlund Schaller
PhD
Lead Author
Bijar Ghafouri
Linkoping University
Lead Author
Topics
- Specific Pain Conditions/Pain in Specific Populations: Cancer Pain & Palliative Care