Oral and dental alterations and growth disruption following chemotherapy in long-term survivors of childhood malignancies

• Published in: Supportive care in cancer 2019-05, Vol.27 (5), p.1891-1899
• Main Authors: Çetiner, Deniz, Çetiner, Sedat, Uraz, Ahu, Alpaslan, Gökhan H., Alpaslan, Cansu, Toygar Memikoğlu, T. Ufuk, Karadeniz, Ceyda
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Antineoplastic Agents - administration & dosage; Antineoplastic Agents - adverse effects; Cancer; Cancer therapies; Care and treatment; Case-Control Studies; Chemotherapy; Child; Child, Preschool; Childhood; Dental Caries - epidemiology; Dental Caries - etiology; Enamel; Female; Growth; Health aspects; Humans; Infant; Male; Medical care; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Mouth Abnormalities - epidemiology; Mouth Abnormalities - etiology; Neoplasms - drug therapy; Neoplasms - epidemiology; Nursing; Nursing Research; Oncology; Oncology, Experimental; Original Article; Pain Medicine; Pediatrics; Periodontal Index; Quality management; Quality of Life; Rehabilitation Medicine; Stomatognathic Diseases - epidemiology; Stomatognathic Diseases - etiology; Survivors - statistics & numerical data; Teeth; Tooth Abnormalities - epidemiology; Tooth Abnormalities - etiology; Tooth Diseases; Vincristine
• ISSN: 0941-4355; 1433-7339
• DOI: 10.1007/s00520-018-4454-0

Purpose More attention has been focused on the long-term side effects of treatment protocols since impressive advances in childhood cancer treatment have resulted in a growing population of patients. The purpose of this study was to investigate the disturbances of dento-facial development in children who were long-term survivors of childhood malignancies. Methods Fifty-three children (mean age, 10 years + 4 months) in long-term remission underwent oral/dental and radiographic examinations after completion of therapy. Crown and root malformations, gingival/periodontal status, enamel defects, discolorations, decayed and unerupted teeth, premature apexifications, agenesis, maximal interincisal opening and lateral movement of jaws, and soft tissue abnormalities were noted. Caries were evaluated by the decayed-missing-filled teeth (DMFT) index. Forty healthy children (mean age, 12 years + 4 months) belonging to the same age group and socioeconomic community were served as controls. All participants in the study were evaluated in terms of craniofacial development. Results The data of the study showed that higher prevalence of root malformation, unerupted teeth, and enamel hypoplasia were detected as a consequence of childhood cancer and/or antineoplastic therapy. Although no differences of craniofacial growth and development were observed between groups ( P  > 0.05), plaque and gingival index scores were statistically higher in the study group ( P