What do systematic reviews say?

Oral cryotherapy (ice chips, ice-cold water, ice cubes or crushed ice held in the mouth during cancer treatment) vs no intervention or control intervention (control)

• Interventions for preventing oral mucositis in patients with cancer receiving treatment: oral cryotherapy 2015 · Cochrane All outcomes

  High-dose melphalan-based treatment prior to HSCT (haematological cancers)
  Summary of findings 2 (melphalan/HSCT): Quality of life - '1 study assessed this outcome but the data are currently unavailable as the study report and analysis have not yet been completed' (Toro 2013; measured with…
  1 study
  GRADE not reported
• Interventions for preventing oral mucositis in patients with cancer receiving treatment: oral cryotherapy 2015 · Cochrane All outcomes

  Fluorouracil (5FU) treatment for solid cancers
  Summary of findings for the main comparison (5FU solid cancers): Quality of life - 'No studies assessed this outcome'.
  0 studies
  No studies found

Any antifungal intervention for the treatment of oral candidiasis vs Placebo, no treatment, or another active antifungal intervention

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

• Interventions for treating oral candidiasis for patients with cancer receiving treatment 2010 · Cochrane All outcomes
  None of the studies reported: relief of pain, relief of dysphagia, incidence of systemic infection, amount of analgesia, days stay in hospital, cost of oral care, patient quality of life.
  0 studies
  No studies found

Visual screening (oral visual inspection) by trained health workers vs No screening

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

• Screening programmes for the early detection and prevention of oral cancer 2013 · Cochrane All outcomes

  15-year follow-up
  Data on quality of life were not reported.
  0 studies
  No studies found

Aciclovir (oral or intravenous) for treatment vs placebo

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

• Interventions for the prevention and treatment of herpes simplex virus in patients being treated for cancer 2009 · Cochrane All outcomes
  For the treatment comparison (aciclovir versus placebo), no data were available for recurrence of lesions, amount of analgesia, days of stay in hospital, cost of oral care or patient quality of life.
  0 studies
  No studies found

Prophylactic aciclovir (oral or intravenous) vs placebo

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

• Interventions for the prevention and treatment of herpes simplex virus in patients being treated for cancer 2009 · Cochrane All outcomes
  None of the prophylactic aciclovir versus placebo trials reported on patient quality of life. For prevention or treatment, no trials reported on duration of hospital stay, amount of analgesia or patient quality of life.
  0 studies
  No studies found

Commercial mouthcare system (Biotene Oral Balance / Xerostom) vs Bioxtra mouthcare system

• Interventions for the management of dry mouth: topical therapies 2011 · Cochrane All outcomes
  No difference between systems for overall xerostomia-related quality of life (15-item survey). Bioxtra rated better for taste; no difference for mouth 'feel'. Trial likely underpowered.
  1 study · 20 participants
  GRADE not reported

Systemic oral acyclovir vs placebo or no treatment

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

• Acyclovir for treating primary herpetic gingivostomatitis 2008 · Cochrane All outcomes
  No data were available in either included study (Amir 1997b; Ducoulombier 1988).
  Studies not reported
  No studies found

Commercial mouthcare system (Biotene Oral Balance / Xerostom) vs Usual care or CMC-based control

• Interventions for the management of dry mouth: topical therapies 2011 · Cochrane All outcomes
  Ship 2007 reported xerostomia-related quality of life; no usable comparative data.
  1 study
  GRADE not reported

Antimicrobial lozenge vs placebo

• Pharmacological interventions for preventing dry mouth and salivary gland dysfunction following radiotherapy 2017 · Cochrane All outcomes

  Over 6 months
  Insufficient evidence of a difference for global quality of life, mouth pain RR 0.94 (95% CI 0.66 to 1.33), sore/burning mouth RR 0.95 (95% CI 0.68 to 1.35), throat pain RR 0.79 (95% CI 0.56 to 1.12) (Duncan 2005)
  1 study
  GRADE not reported

Selenium vs no intervention

• Pharmacological interventions for preventing dry mouth and salivary gland dysfunction following radiotherapy 2017 · Cochrane All outcomes

  6 weeks after end of RT
  Insufficient evidence of differences for loss of taste or dysphagia; data largely unusable (no standard deviations). Ageusia milder in selenium group (not significant); dysphagia significant only at week 7 (P = 0.05)…
  1 study
  GRADE not reported

Antioxidants (lycopene, curcumin, Oxitard) vs Placebo or no active treatment

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

• Interventions for managing oral submucous fibrosis 2024 · Cochrane All outcomes
  The trials did not measure quality of life.
  0 studies
  No studies found

Chemotherapy (any regimen; added to, or compared with, locoregional treatment) vs Locoregional treatment and/or an alternative chemotherapy regimen

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

• Interventions for the treatment of oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancer: chemotherapy 2021 · Cochrane All outcomes
  Quality of life was a planned (protocol) outcome but no included trial provided usable quality-of-life data; the protocol was modified to report only survival/response outcomes.
  0 studies
  No studies found

EGFR monoclonal antibody (cetuximab or nimotuzumab) plus standard therapy (radiotherapy or chemoradiotherapy) vs Standard therapy alone (radiotherapy or chemoradiotherapy)

• Interventions for the treatment of oral and oropharyngeal cancers: targeted therapy and immunotherapy 2015 · Cochrane All outcomes

  24 to 70 months
  Only one study (Bonner 2006, 424 participants) comprehensively assessed quality of life using EORTC QLQ-C30 (v3.0) and QLQ-H&N35; no statistically significant difference between groups for global health status or any…
  1 study · 424 participants
  GRADE not reported

Phenytoin mouthrinse vs placebo

Phenytoin mouthrinse led to lower quality of life compared with placebo; GRADE not reported.

• Interventions for treating oral mucositis for patients with cancer receiving treatment 2010 · Cochrane All outcomes

  7 days
  MD -15.10 [-26.04, -4.16]
  1 study · 12 participants
  GRADE not reported

Radiotherapy (morning) vs Afternoon radiotherapy

• Interventions for the treatment of oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancer: radiotherapy 2010 · Cochrane All outcomes
  Bjarnason 2009: no statistically significant difference in quality of life scores (data not reported). Morning radiotherapy was associated with significantly less weight loss after 5 months.
  1 study · 216 participants
  GRADE not reported

Mechanical tongue cleaning (tongue scraper) vs No tongue cleaning

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

• Interventions for managing halitosis 2019 · Cochrane All outcomes
  Quality of life was a prespecified secondary outcome. None of the 44 included studies in the review (across all comparisons) reported quality-of-life data (review-wide evidence gap).
  0 studies
  No studies found

Keratinocyte growth factor (KGF; palifermin or repifermin), intravenous vs placebo

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

• Interventions for preventing oral mucositis in patients with cancer receiving treatment: cytokines and growth factors 2017 · Cochrane All outcomes
  No studies reported this outcome (planned secondary outcome not measured by any study in the review)
  0 studies
  No studies found

Psychological therapies (cognitive therapy) vs placebo

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

• Interventions for treating burning mouth syndrome 2016 · Cochrane All outcomes

  short-term (up to 3 months)
  SoF8: No included study reported change in QoL.
  0 studies
  No studies found

Gabapentin vs placebo

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

• Interventions for treating burning mouth syndrome 2016 · Cochrane All outcomes

  short-term (up to 3 months)
  SoF2: No included studies reported change in QoL.
  0 studies
  No studies found

Bethanechol vs placebo

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

• Interventions for treating burning mouth syndrome 2016 · Cochrane All outcomes

  short-term (up to 3 months)
  SoF4: No included studies reported change in QoL.
  0 studies
  No studies found