ORAL MUCOSITIS IN ONCOLOGY PATIENTS: IMPACT ON QUALITY OF LIFE AND CARE APPROACHES DURING ANTINEOPLASTIC TREATMENT

Abstract

Oral mucositis is one of the most frequent and debilitating complications of antineoplastic treatment, characterized by an ulcerative inflammatory process of the oral mucosa that significantly compromises the quality of life of cancer patients. This study aimed to analyze, in the scientific literature, the impact of oral mucositis on the quality of life of cancer patients and the care approaches used during antineoplastic treatment. This is a descriptive literature review with a qualitative approach, conducted in the PubMed, SciELO and BVS databases, using the health descriptors: "oral mucositis", "oncology", "quality of life" and "antineoplastic treatment", combined with the Boolean operator AND. Studies published in the last five years, available in full, in Portuguese, English and Spanish were included. The results showed that oral mucositis directly impacts nutritional status, physical and psychological well-being, and the continuity of cancer treatment, potentially leading to dose reduction or treatment interruption. Among the care approaches identified, the maintenance of rigorous oral hygiene, the use of anti-inflammatory agents, oral cryotherapy and the emerging use of probiotics stand out. It is concluded that, despite advances in the management of this condition, there is still no universally accepted protocol, requiring individualized approaches and future research aimed at developing integrated strategies that improve the quality of life of cancer patients.