A Phase II/III Blinded Randomized Trial to Determine the Efficacy of Low Energy Diode Laser Therapy (650 nm or 780 nm) to Prevent Oral Mucositis Following Bone Marrow Transplantation
A Phase II/III Blinded Randomized Trial to Determine the Efficacy of Low Energy Diode Laser Therapy (650 nm or 780 nm) to Prevent Oral Mucositis Following Bone Marrow Transplantation
RATIONALE: Laser therapy may reduce the severity of symptoms and speed healing of oral mucositis. It is not yet known if laser therapy is effective in preventing oral mucositis.
PURPOSE: Randomized phase II/III trial to determine the effectiveness of laser therapy in preventing oral mucositis in patients who are undergoing bone marrow transplantation.
OBJECTIVES: I. Determine whether low-energy laser therapy can prevent oral mucositis in patients undergoing bone marrow transplantation.
OUTLINE: This is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Patients are randomized to one of three treatment arms. Arm I: Patients undergo low-energy laser therapy with visible red light (650 nm) daily over 15-20 minutes beginning on the first day of their transplant conditioning regimen and continuing until day 2 after bone marrow transplantation. Arm II: Patients undergo low-energy laser therapy with invisible infra-red light (780 nm) daily on the same schedule as in arm I. Arm III: Patients undergo sham laser therapy daily on the same schedule as in arm I. Patients are followed on days 3, 7, 10, 14, 18, 21, and 24.
PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A total of 66 patients (22 per treatment arm) will be accrued for this study.
DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS: At risk of developing oral mucositis due to toxicity resulting from one of the following: Preparative chemoradiotherapy Multiple drug conditioning regimens Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) prophylaxis
PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS: Age: Over 12 Performance status: Not specified Life expectancy: Not specified Hematopoietic: Not specified Hepatic: Not specified Renal: Not specified Other: Able to carry out routine oral care No active oral, viral, bacterial, or fungal infections No active uncontrolled oral bleeding that would preclude laser therapy
PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY: Biologic therapy: Not specified Chemotherapy: Not specified Endocrine therapy: Not specified Radiotherapy: Not specified Surgery: Not specified Other: Not currently enrolled on other protocols with oral mucositis as a stated end point (e.g., conditioning regimen toxicity trials or GVHD prophylaxis trials) No other concurrent investigational drugs or agents for the prevention or treatment of mucositis No concurrent photosensitizing agents