Honey and a mixture of honey, beeswax, and olive oilpropolis extract in treatment of chemotherapy-induced oral mucositis: A randomized controlled pilot study

Abstract

In spite of being one of the most investigated subjects among supportive care in cancer, no therapy has been found effective in treatment of chemotherapy-induced oral mucositis. Based on the observations that honey bees products have anti-inflammatory and wound healing effects, the present study tried to evaluate the effect of topical application of honey and a mixture of honey, olive oilpropolis extract, and beeswax (HOPE) in treatment of oral mucositis. This was a randomized controlled clinical trial conducted on 90 patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and oral mucositis grades 2 and 3. The mean age of enrolled patients was 6.9 years. The patients were assigned into 3 equal treatment groups: Honey, HOPE, and control groups. Topical treatment for each patient consists of honey, HOPE, and benzocaine gel for honey, HOPE, and control groups, respectively. Recovery time in grade 2 mucositis was significantly reduced in the honey group as compared with either HOPE or controls (P