Colchicine mouth washings to improve oral mucositis in patients with hematological malignancies: a clinical trial.

Palliat Support Care. 2008 Dec;6(4):371-6

Authors: Garavito AA, Cardona AF, Reveiz L, Ospina E, Yepes A, Ospina V

OBJECTIVE: Oral mucositis (OM) is a frequently encountered problem as a complication of cancer treatment. We investigated whether daily washings with colchicine solution improved mucositis in patients with hematological malignancies undergoing chemotherapy. METHODS: This study was a one-arm, nonrandomized clinical trial that used a historical control group. Patients were included in the study from the first day of mucositis and followed up until discharge. Patients received 2 mg colchicine mouthwashes daily for 5 days or saline solution. OM was assessed once daily until symptom resolution, using the WHO grading scale of 0-4 and a visual analogue scale. We determined that at least 40 patients in the colchicine group would be needed to detect a 20% difference in the duration of OM between Groups A and B, with a 95% confidence level and a power of 80%. RESULTS: 82 patients were included in the final analysis, 40 in the colchicine group and 42 in the control group. Median duration of OM was significantly different among groups; 9 days (range 1-17 days) for the control group versus 6 days (range 3-13 days) for those exposed to colchicine mouthwash (p = .028). The median days of regression of mucosal lesions were significantly different (p = .047) among the control group (7 days [range 3-20]) compared to the colchicine group (4 days [range 2-14]). SIGNIFICANCE OF RESULTS: Although our findings suggest that colchicine mouthwash is helpful in reducing the severity and duration of chemotherapy-induced OM, randomized trials are needed to confirm these results.

PMID: 19006592 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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