Disease Education
Radiotherapy-Induced Severe Oral Mucositis in Head and Neck Cancer
Radiation therapy, or radiotherapy (RT), is the standard of care treatment for head and neck cancer (HNC). RT can damage the healthy mucus membranes that line the mouth, resulting in inflammation, swelling, redness, and debilitating mouth sores called oral mucositis (OM). With the most severe grades of OM, Grades 3 and 4, known together as severe oral mucositis (SOM), patients have extreme pain and ulcers that make it impossible to eat or drink.1 SOM is the most frequent major radiation-induced side effect seen in patients with HNC. Approximately 43,500 patients with HNC in the U.S. receive RT annually and are at risk of developing SOM. Up to 70% of patients receiving chemoradiotherapy develop SOM.
The impact of SOM on patient and caregiver quality of life is substantial, as the painful mouth sores can cause patients to be unable to swallow, eat, or drink, and in some cases, even speak. To maintain proper nutrition during treatment, patients commonly require feeding tubes. SOM can be so debilitating that patients may choose to stop potentially curative radiation treatment altogether.
“When I think about going through treatment and all the side effects, I would have given anything to take the pain of severe oral mucositis away. If there was a treatment to eliminate the side effects of SOM caused from radiation, it would dramatically change the lives of patients everywhere.”
There are currently no drugs approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for SOM in patients receiving radiotherapy for head and neck cancer.
Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC)
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the U.S., with approximately 238,000 cases diagnosed each year and more than 125,000 deaths.1 Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the most common type of lung cancer, accounting for 85% of all cases. Treatments for NSCLC include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy and targeted therapy. When a patient is diagnosed with non-metastatic NSCLC but the tumor cannot be surgically removed, stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) can significantly improve disease control, tumor outcomes and survival. Approximately 42,000 NSCLC patients are treated with SBRT each year2, and the number continues to grow. A therapy that could further improve the efficacy of SBRT against NSCLC is needed and would be welcomed by patients and treating physicians.
1 American Cancer Society. Cancer Facts & Figures 2023. Available at: https://www.cancer.org/research/cancer-facts-statistics/all-cancer-facts-figures/2023-cancer-facts-figures.html
2 Decision Resources Market Sizing Report, Oct 2020
Pancreatic Cancer
Over 60,000 people in the U.S. are estimated to be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2023.1 Surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy may extend survival and/or relieve symptoms, yet there is only a 12% 5-year survival rate in this population.1 Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT), which delivers high fraction doses of radiation over the course of 1-2 weeks, is used for non-metastatic pancreatic cancer. However, the opportunity for improvement in SBRT treatment outcomes is substantial, and there is an urgent need for novel therapies to extend survival in patients with pancreatic cancer.
1 American Cancer Society. Cancer Facts & Figures 2023. Available at: https://www.cancer.org/research/cancer-facts-statistics/all-cancer-facts-figures/2023-cancer-facts-figures.html
