Investigating the effect of Aloe vera on the prevention and treatment of radiotherapy induced oral mucositis in patients with head and neck cancer

Oral mucositis is one of the main complications of radiotherapy (RT) while treating head?and?neck cancers and can affect the patients’ treatment process and life. Therefore, this study evaluated the effect of Aloe vera on the prevention and treatment of radiotherapy?induced oral mucositis (RIOM) in patients with head?and?neck cancer.

This was a double?blind clinical trial performed in 2019 on 75 patients with head?and?neck cancer. Patients were randomly assigned totwo groups receiving gargles of 5 cc Aloe vera and the same dose of placebo mouthwash three times a day, respectively. Then, the incidence and severity of RIOM were evaluated and compared between the two groups over 6 weeks of RT.

There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of the severity of RIOM from the 1st to 3rd weeks of RT (P > 0.05). However, the severity of RIOM in the 4th, 5th, and 6th weeks of RT was significantly lower in the Aloe vera group compared with the placebo group (P < 0.05).

According to the results of the present study, the long?term use of Aloe vera mouthwash can reduce the severity of RIOM.