Marwa Khalil¹,
Omar Hamadah¹,
Maher Saifo^2,3


 

 

Background: This study was conducted to compare the effects of two clinical protocols—intraoral red laser versus a combination of extraoral infrared laser and intraoral red laser—on the Patient Reported Oral Mucositis Symptoms (PROMS) scale in patients undergoing chemotherapy.
Methods: In this prospective randomized double-blind clinical trial, 45 patients were assigned to three groups, matched by age, sex, chemotherapy type, and baseline oral health status. Group 1 received standard oral care alone, Group 2 received standard oral care plus intraoral photobiomodulation (PBM) using a 635 nm diode laser, and Group 3 received standard oral care combined with both intraoral 635 nm and extraoral 980 nm laser therapy. The PROMS scale was assessed 1 week and 2 weeks after the start of chemotherapy.
Results: Significant differences were observed between groups on the PROMS scale at both time points (p = .000). Pairwise comparisons showed improvements in both PBM groups compared to the control group, though no significant difference was found between the two PBM protocols.
Conclusion: Photobiomodulation therapy, whether with intraoral laser alone or with intraoral and extraoral lasers, has a significant role in improving the quality of life of gastrointestinal cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.

 Key words: photobiomodulation, chemotherapy, patient-reported oral mucositis symptoms

Address of correspondence:
Marwa Khalil, Department of Oral Medicine,
Faculty of Dentistry, Damascus University, Syrian Arab Republic
E-mail: hsnkhal@gmail.com

Copyright © 2025by The Editorial Council of The Acta Stomatologica Naissi