ORAL CAVITY COMPLICATIONS OF BONE-MARROW TRANSPLANTATION

Bone marrow transplantation, once regarded as experimental, has evolve d into a standard treatment for a variety of malignancies, Considerabl e advances have been made in histocompatibility typing, pretransplanta tion chemotherapy, and posttransplantation immunosuppressive therapy a s well as prophylaxis and treatment of infections, Oral complications develop in almost all patients, and their early recognition may result in the institution of prompt treatment and prolonged survival, Mucosi tis, often severe and extremely painful, develops in more than three q uarters of bone marrow transplant recipients, and its prevention, unfo rtunately, remains unsatisfactory, Herpes simplex virus and Candida al bicans account for most oral infections, although their incidence has been dramatically reduced by the institution of prophylactic agents, G raft versus host disease continues to be a significant complication of marrow transplantation, and the detection of commonly occurring oral changes may support its diagnosis.