Approximately 70% of patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) receiving concurrent cisplatin and radiation experience severe oral mucositis (SOM), defined as grade 3 to 4 by the WHO scale.1-3 SOM causes pain that potentially requires narcotics; adversely affects nutrition (including requiring a feeding tube), hydration, speech, swallowing, and bacteremia risk4,5; leads to radiation treatment breaks, which compromise tumor control6-8; and increases care costs, especially from hospitalization...
