Real-world management of oral mucositis/stomatitis among patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) or breast cancer (BC)

AIMS: To describe United States real-world oral mucositis/stomatitis (OM/S) management for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) or breast cancer (BC) and document physician awareness of OM/S guidelines, risk factors, and barriers to care. PATIENTS & METHODS: This study included a cross-sectional physician survey and retrospective chart review. Physicians completed an electronic survey and abstracted chart data for patients with advanced/metastatic NSCLC or BC who developed treatment-related OM/S on or after 1 January 2021. RESULTS: Thirty-one physicians abstracted data for 272 patients (146 NSCLC; 126 BC). Median patient age at OM/S event was 66.2 years (NSCLC) and 61.6 years (BC). Systemic treatments included chemotherapy (NSCLC: 86.3%; BC: 67.5%), immunotherapy (NSCLC: 56.8%; BC: 10.3%), and targeted therapy (NSCLC: 9.6%; BC: 46.8%). OM/S-related treatment changes (reduction/interruption/discontinuation) were reported in 20.5% and 35.7% of patients with NSCLC or BC, respectively. A majority of physicians (61.3%) were unaware of published OM/S management guidelines. Physicians identified poor oral hygiene (80.6%) and limited physician awareness of OM/S guidelines (71.0%) as barriers to OM/S management. CONCLUSIONS: OM/S occurs across cancer treatment regimens and can lead to treatment modification. Improvements in OM/S management at the patient and provider level are needed to enhance care and improve clinical outcomes.