Effectiveness of Photobiomodulation Protocols in Radiation-induced Oral Side Effects in H&N Cancer Patients

Head and neck cancer (HNC) are among the most frequent malignancies in the world. The main treatment modalities for HNC are surgical excision, radiotherapy (RT), and chemotherapy (CT). Severe oral sequelae such as oral mucositis (OM), dysgeusia, opportunistic infections, trismus, and xerostomia/hyposalivation can affect HNC patients due to oncological treatment with RT and QT. Photobiomodulation therapy (PBMT) with an intraoral low-power laser has been studied as an excellent tool in the management of OM and xerostomia and thus improves the tolerability of RT in the head and neck region. The aim of this multicenter, randomized, single-blind clinical trial is to compare the effects of two photobiomodulation protocols (intraoral application low-level laser and defocused extraoral application of high-power laser) in the management of oral mucositis (OM) and xerostomia in head and neck cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy (RT). It is expected defocused extraoral high-power photobiomodulation shows results as good as intraoral photobiomodulation on the management of oral mucositis.