Treatment of mucositis pain: News and prospects

Mucositis, an acute inflammation of the digestive mucosa, is one of the main toxicities secondary to oncological treatments. Among its consequences, mucositis-related pain is an important complication due to its intensity and repercussion, especially on quality of life. Treatment of pain ploys a central role in management of mucositis. It must be multimodol, combining local and general opioid or non-opioid treatments, adapted to pain intensity and based on international recommendations updated in 2014. A systemic analgesic treatment with morphine with a patient-controlled analgesia device is often necessary in severe mucositis. In case of insufficient analgesia, use of co-analgesics (paracetamol, ketomine, anticonvulsonts, and antidepressants) con improve analgesic control and reduce morphine doses. Non-drug strategies (distraction, relaxation, hypnosis) and preventive measures must be a major concern. Among them, laser therapy using a low power athermal laser beam, is a promising therapeutic strategy whose effectiveness is based on its analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and healing properties. Despite many available studies, there is a limited number of clinically effective therapies. New therapeutic agents for the prevention and treatment of mucositis and its pain, based on the biological phenomena involved, must be further developed to improve the efficacy of analgesia.