Efficacy of Melatonin in prevention of radiation-induced oral mucositis: A randomized clinical trial
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: Evaluating the effectiveness of melatonin in prevention of radiation-induced oral mucositis. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A randomized controlled clinical study was conducted on forty head and neck cancer (HNC) patients undergoing radiotherapy at the Department of Clinical Oncology, Alexandria University, Egypt. Patients were assigned equally to either control group who received conventional treatment or test group who received 20 mg of melatonin along with the conventional treatment. All patients were clinically evaluated for oral mucositis severity and pain at three and six weeks after the start of radiotherapy. Additionally, the total antioxidant capacity (TAC) in patients' saliva samples was assessed at the start of radiotherapy and six weeks later. RESULTS: 92.5% of all patients have experienced oral mucositis with more severity reported in the control group (30%) compared with the test group (5%). Mean pain scores decreased significantly, in the second assessment, in test group rather than the controls. TAC values showed a significant difference between the test and controls with a significant decrease in TAC in the control group. CONCLUSION: The administration of melatonin with conventional treatment has reduced severe oral mucositis development. It aided in decreasing pain and hindering the reduction of TAC resulting from radiotherapy among the test group compared with controls.
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Other studies since these pivotal publications have used 50 mg daily as a reference dose.
“Other studies since these pivotal publications have used this dose as a reference [181,182,183,184].”
From Is Melatonin the “Next Vitamin D”?: A Review of Emerging Science, Clinical Uses, Safety, and Dietary Supplements (2022) · cites this paper as [181]
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- Authors
- Elsabagh, H. H., Moussa, E., Mahmoud, S. A., Elsaka, R. O., & Abdelrahman, H.
- Affiliations
- Alexandria University (EG)
- Corresponding author
- Elsabagh, Hossam H.
- Venue
- Oral Diseases
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2020-01-15
- Volume
- 26
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 566-572
- ISSN
- 1354-523X (ISSN-L)
- 1601-0825
- OpenAlex
- W2997298059
- Cited by
- 65
- References
- 40
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 18 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 9
- FWCI
- 6.43
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Oral Diseases (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine › Oral health in cancer treatment
- Health Sciences › Dentistry › Periodontics › Oral Health Pathology and Treatment
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging › Effects of Radiation Exposure
- Keywords
- melatonin, radiation-induced oral mucositis, head and neck cancer, radiotherapy complications, mucositis prevention, oral pain, total antioxidant capacity, saliva, antioxidant status
- MeSH terms
- Antioxidants, Head and Neck Neoplasms, Humans, Melatonin, Radiation Injuries, Saliva, Stomatitis
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