Oropharyngeal Mucositis in Cancer Therapy

To begin with, let me acknowledge that Drs. Epstein and Schubert are experienced doctors of dental medicine who have been involved in the evaluation and therapy of cytotoxic therapy–related mucositis for a long time. I fully agree with them that cytotoxic therapy–associated mucositis is a major clinical problem and that there is a dearth of good studies that address ways to alleviate the condition. Drs. Epstein and Schubert do an excellent job describing the incidence, causative factors, and etiology of cytotoxic therapy–related oral mucositis, and they are to be congratulated for this. Nonetheless, I view a few points differently, as discussed below.