Oral Complications in Children with Cancer

Dan Boboia 1/22/10 Lit. Review

Title: Oral Complications in Children with Cancer

Author: Childers et al

Main Purpose: To determine the incidence of oral complications in 214 pediatric patients with cancer at Children’s Hospital of Alabama.

Methods / Results: Final study sample comprised 214 pediatric cancer patients; median age was 6 years; Incidence of each oral complication is given in table 1. Incidence of ulcers ranked highest, followed by gingivitis. Children with sarcomas had more ulcers and Candida infections then those with leukemia. There was a 5 x higher rate of gingivitis then in patients with sarcoma. Candida infections in children with solid tumors were four times more then in patients with leukemia.

Conclusion:
Oral complications are a frequent cause of morbidity in children with cancers. There are also certain cancers in which certain oral complications are seen more often. Prevention could be more effective my identifying the risk groups and developing treatment strategies.