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Patient and oncologist perceptions regarding symptoms and impact on quality-of-life of oral mucositis in cancer treatment: results from the Awareness Drives Oral Mucositis PercepTion (ADOPT) study

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Abstract

Purpose

This descriptive cross-sectional survey aims to assess the level of concordance between the perspectives of oncologists and those of patients regarding oral mucositis (OM) symptoms, and the impact of OM on various aspects of daily living and concurrent cancer management.

Methods

Oncologists involved in OM management (n = 105), and patients who developed OM during cancer treatment (n = 175), were recruited from seven Asian countries. Oncologists completed a face-to-face, quantitative interview; patients completed a face-to-face interview, and a self-reported questionnaire.

Results

Oncologists and patients ranked treatment-induced OM among the three most important toxicities of cancer therapy requiring intervention. The most frequent OM symptoms reported by patients were oral ulcers (74%), dry mouth (73%), and difficulty swallowing (62%). Oncologists expected mild OM symptoms to last slightly longer than 1 week, whereas patients reported mild symptoms for more than 2 weeks. In mild-to-moderate OM, oncologists underestimated patients’ pain experience. Overall, only 45% of oncologists said they would initiate OM prophylaxis when cancer therapy started. Of the 87% of patients who said they used their prescribed medications, only 16% reported using prophylactically prescribed medication. While oncologists’ concerns related to the delays and interruptions of cancer treatment, patients tended to focus on the effects of OM on eating, drinking, and talking.

Conclusions

Oncologists’ and patients’ perceptions about treatment-induced OM differ. To overcome discordant perspectives, there is a need to raise general awareness and improve proactive management of OM. As noted in recent guidelines, supportive cancer care is critical for ensuring optimal therapy and for improving the patient’s experience.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank MIMS Pte Ltd. for providing medical writing support and editorial support, which was funded by Mundipharma Pte Ltd., Singapore in accordance with Good Publication Practice (GPP3) guidelines (http://www.ismpp.org/gpp3).”

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore

    Jeevendra Kanagalingam

  2. Johns Hopkins Singapore, International Medical Clinic, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore, Singapore

    Jeevendra Kanagalingam

  3. Department of Oncology, Beacon International Specialist Centre, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia

    Mohamed Ibrahim A. Wahid

  4. Department of Radiation Oncology, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan

    Jin-Ching Lin

  5. Department of Radiology, University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital, Manila, Philippines

    Nonette A. Cupino

  6. Hong Kong Pacific Cancer Centre, Hong Kong, Hong Kong

    Edward Liu

  7. Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, South Korea

    Jin-Hyoung Kang

  8. Section of Medical Oncology, Oncology Center, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

    Shouki Bazarbashi

  9. Research Partnership, Singapore, Singapore

    Nicole Bender Moreira

  10. Mundipharma Pte Ltd, Singapore, Singapore

    Harsha Arumugam, Stefan Mueller & Hanlim Moon

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  1. Jeevendra Kanagalingam
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Correspondence to Jeevendra Kanagalingam.

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Conflict of interest

Jeevendra Kanagalingam declares honoraria from Mundipharma Pte Ltd. for consultancy as well as writing and reviewing the manuscript. Nicole Bender Moreira received consultation fee for the study design, research material translations, data collection and processing, as well as statistical analysis of the data and reporting. Harsha Arumugam, Stefan Mueller, and Hanlim Moon are employees of Mundipharma Pte Ltd.

Ethical approval

Ethics approval was not needed in the respective countries since this was a non-interventional market research study.

Informed consent

Written informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study prior to completing the face-to-face interviews.

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Kanagalingam, J., Wahid, M.I.A., Lin, JC. et al. Patient and oncologist perceptions regarding symptoms and impact on quality-of-life of oral mucositis in cancer treatment: results from the Awareness Drives Oral Mucositis PercepTion (ADOPT) study. Support Care Cancer 26, 2191–2200 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-018-4050-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-018-4050-3

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