[Management of chemotherapy-induced mucositis and diarrhea]

Mucositis is a common complication of cytoreductive cancer chemotherapy. Stomatitis is associated with a higher risk of bacterial infection and treatment-related death. Basic oral care is recommended to reduce the incidence and severity of stomatitis. Recently, new effective prophylaxis against stomatitis has been developed such as human keratinocyte growth factor and AES-14. Gastritis can sometimes cause severe bleeding,and it may be life-threatening. It has been shown that prophylactic H2 blockers or proton pump inhibitors can reduce the incidence and severity of gastric mucosal injury. The risk for chemotherapy-induced diarrhea is significantly greater for chemotherapeutic regimens that contain irinotecan. Intestinal alkalization and Hangeshasin-to a Chinese herbal product are applied in clinical practice in Japan to prevent or reduce irinotecan-induced diarrhea,but careful monitoring,early detection and rapid cure are most important to prevent treatment-related death.