Efficacy of EGF-loaded Self Healing Gel in Treatment of Oral Mucositis

Self Healing Gel as a Vehicle for Recombinant Human Epidermal Growth Factor in Treatment of Oral Mucositis Following Cancer Therapy

Cancer treatment, including radiation along with aggressive chemotherapy, increases the patient's survival rate. However, they possess toxic side effects. Oral mucositis is one of the most serious complications of cancer treatment, which occurs in most of patients receiving cancer therapy. Mucositis can dramatically affect the patient's quality of life .Epidermal growth factor (EGF) is a dominant factor in early keratinocyte differentiation, proliferation and migration. However, a major obstacle in most studies is that there isn't prolonged contact between the applied treatment and the oral mucosa to achieve the optimum therapeutic effect. Thus, a new vehicle for EGF is needed to achieve sufficient prolonged contact with oral mucosa. The present project aims at employing EGF as therapeutic agent for mucositis dealing with the challenges of delivery of such macromolecule to the oral mucosa by using self-healing gels to maximize the drug effect.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Eligible patients are those over 18 years of age with WHO grade 3 or 4 oral mucositis receiving radio- or chemotherapy as treatment for head and neck cancer.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patients with hematologic malignancies or those with known allergic reactions to the drug.