Study Comparing New and Traditional Methods to Evaluate Radiation-Induced Oropharyngeal Mucositis in Head and Neck Cancer Patients and Exploring Blood Markers

What this Trial Is About

This research aims to improve the evaluation of radiation oropharyngeal mucositis, a painful side effect experienced by patients undergoing radiotherapy for head and neck tumors. The study compares a new four-type classification system based on histopathological changes with traditional grading methods. It also explores changes in blood markers related to different types of mucositis by using residual blood samples from patients. The study is observational and does not require any extra visits or tests beyond routine clinical care. It is divided into three parts first, comparing the consistency of different mucositis assessment methods among doctors second, evaluating the stability of these assessments across multiple doctors and third, comparing doctor assessments using the new classification with patients self-assessments. Patients are assessed every 1 to 2 weeks during radiotherapy. Participants will provide consent for data collection, including routine diagnosis and treatment information. Researchers will measure the consistency between doctors evaluations and between doctors and patients over up to three years. Patient and doctor satisfaction with the assessment methods will also be recorded. The main outcome is inter-rater consistency among doctors, with monitoring continuing throughout the study period.

Comparative Study of New Classification and Traditional Classification of Radioactive Oropharyngeal Mucositis