Clinical evaluation of oral chronic graft-versus-host disease

Oral chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) is a significant and serious complication following allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). The purpose of this study was to characterize the distribution, type, and extent of lesions and their correlation with patient-reported symptoms such as pain and discomfort. The effect of time since transplantation on these measures was also assessed. Consecutive patients with oral cGVHD referred to the Center for Oral Disease at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, were evaluated over a 2-year period. Subjective data included the responses to 4 targeted symptom questions (yes/no) and a visual analog scale pain score (0-10). Objective data included the location and extent of reticulation, erythema, and ulcerations using a previously published scoring system as well as time since HSCT. Multiple linear regression analyses were performed using SAS. We evaluated 27 patients, for a total of 79 clinic visits (median 2, range: 1-8). The median time since HSCT was 18 months (range: 5-157 months). The buccal and labial mucosa and tongue were the sites of 93% of all ulcerations, 72% of all erythematous lesions, and 76% of all reticular lesions, and were the most frequently affected sites. The gingiva, floor of mouth, and hard and soft palate were infrequently affected. Although uncommon, ulceration of the soft palate was the objective finding most highly correlated with increased pain (P < .0001), and there was a generalized significant trend for increased pain scores with increased extent of ulceration. Overall, 95% of pain scores were