Honey for managing oral mucositis induced by cancer therapies: An overview of systematic reviews
Purpose: To synthesize and evaluate the quality of systematic reviews focusing on the use of honey for both the prevention and treatment of oral mucositis induced by cancer therapies. Methods: An overview of systematic reviews was conducted by searching five electronic databases from inception to Ja...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-09-01
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| Series: | Complementary Therapies in Medicine |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S096522992500072X |
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| author | Huda Anshasi Bassema Abufarsakh Ja’far M. Alkhawaldeh Sura Al Halalmeh |
| author_facet | Huda Anshasi Bassema Abufarsakh Ja’far M. Alkhawaldeh Sura Al Halalmeh |
| author_sort | Huda Anshasi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Purpose: To synthesize and evaluate the quality of systematic reviews focusing on the use of honey for both the prevention and treatment of oral mucositis induced by cancer therapies. Methods: An overview of systematic reviews was conducted by searching five electronic databases from inception to January 2024 to identify relevant studies evaluating the effectiveness of honey in the prevention and treatment of cancer therapy-induced oral mucositis. Results: Twelve reviews were included, with seven (58.3 %) published after 2018. Five systematic reviews, four of which were rated as high quality, consistently found that honey significantly reduces the occurrence of severe radiation-induced oral mucositis (grades III and IV). Honey may also help alleviate severe pain requiring analgesics and reduce treatment interruptions, particularly among adult patients undergoing radiotherapy. However, findings regarding honey’s effectiveness in reducing the overall incidence of radiation-induced oral mucositis, regardless of severity, were inconsistent. These discrepancies are likely due to variations in patient populations, honey formulations, and timing or duration of administration. Evidence regarding honey's efficacy in chemotherapy- and chemoradiotherapy-induced mucositis remains inconclusive due to methodological limitations, clinical heterogeneity, and a limited number of high-quality studies. Conclusion: Honey may be beneficial in reducing the incidence of severe oral mucositis (grades III and IV), relieving pain, and minimizing treatment disruptions in adult patients undergoing radiotherapy. However, its effectiveness across all grades and treatment modalities remains uncertain due to inconsistent findings, clinical heterogeneity, and methodological limitations. Further high-quality studies are needed to standardize honey types and dosing regimens and to stratify outcomes by mucositis grade, patient age, and cancer therapy type. Study Registration: PROSPERO Protocol registration ID: CRD42024532801 |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-ad015e110d0e4d7697b8116921bb64e1 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 0965-2299 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-09-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Complementary Therapies in Medicine |
| spelling | doaj-art-ad015e110d0e4d7697b8116921bb64e12025-08-20T02:02:20ZengElsevierComplementary Therapies in Medicine0965-22992025-09-019210319710.1016/j.ctim.2025.103197Honey for managing oral mucositis induced by cancer therapies: An overview of systematic reviewsHuda Anshasi0Bassema Abufarsakh1Ja’far M. Alkhawaldeh2Sura Al Halalmeh3Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, Higher Colleges of Technology, Fujairah, P.O. Box 1626, United Arab Emirates; Corresponding author.College of Medicine, University of Kentucky, USAFaculty of Nursing, Isra University, PO Box 33 and 22 Isra University Office, Amman 11622, JordanCollege of Nursing, University of Cincinnati, 3110 Vine Street, Cincinnati, OH 45221, USAPurpose: To synthesize and evaluate the quality of systematic reviews focusing on the use of honey for both the prevention and treatment of oral mucositis induced by cancer therapies. Methods: An overview of systematic reviews was conducted by searching five electronic databases from inception to January 2024 to identify relevant studies evaluating the effectiveness of honey in the prevention and treatment of cancer therapy-induced oral mucositis. Results: Twelve reviews were included, with seven (58.3 %) published after 2018. Five systematic reviews, four of which were rated as high quality, consistently found that honey significantly reduces the occurrence of severe radiation-induced oral mucositis (grades III and IV). Honey may also help alleviate severe pain requiring analgesics and reduce treatment interruptions, particularly among adult patients undergoing radiotherapy. However, findings regarding honey’s effectiveness in reducing the overall incidence of radiation-induced oral mucositis, regardless of severity, were inconsistent. These discrepancies are likely due to variations in patient populations, honey formulations, and timing or duration of administration. Evidence regarding honey's efficacy in chemotherapy- and chemoradiotherapy-induced mucositis remains inconclusive due to methodological limitations, clinical heterogeneity, and a limited number of high-quality studies. Conclusion: Honey may be beneficial in reducing the incidence of severe oral mucositis (grades III and IV), relieving pain, and minimizing treatment disruptions in adult patients undergoing radiotherapy. However, its effectiveness across all grades and treatment modalities remains uncertain due to inconsistent findings, clinical heterogeneity, and methodological limitations. Further high-quality studies are needed to standardize honey types and dosing regimens and to stratify outcomes by mucositis grade, patient age, and cancer therapy type. Study Registration: PROSPERO Protocol registration ID: CRD42024532801http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S096522992500072XOral MucositisRadiotherapy, Chemotherapy, Patients with cancerOverview of systematic reviews |
| spellingShingle | Huda Anshasi Bassema Abufarsakh Ja’far M. Alkhawaldeh Sura Al Halalmeh Honey for managing oral mucositis induced by cancer therapies: An overview of systematic reviews Complementary Therapies in Medicine Oral Mucositis Radiotherapy, Chemotherapy, Patients with cancer Overview of systematic reviews |
| title | Honey for managing oral mucositis induced by cancer therapies: An overview of systematic reviews |
| title_full | Honey for managing oral mucositis induced by cancer therapies: An overview of systematic reviews |
| title_fullStr | Honey for managing oral mucositis induced by cancer therapies: An overview of systematic reviews |
| title_full_unstemmed | Honey for managing oral mucositis induced by cancer therapies: An overview of systematic reviews |
| title_short | Honey for managing oral mucositis induced by cancer therapies: An overview of systematic reviews |
| title_sort | honey for managing oral mucositis induced by cancer therapies an overview of systematic reviews |
| topic | Oral Mucositis Radiotherapy, Chemotherapy, Patients with cancer Overview of systematic reviews |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S096522992500072X |
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