New research investigates effectiveness of light therapy in treatment of oral mucositis

The grant, funded by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research Small Business Innovation Research program, was awarded to Cleveland-based MuReva Phototherapy, a medical device startup, to further develop the light technology to treat oral mucositis. UB received $511,000 of the award to be used to determine the effectiveness of photobiomodulation therapy and will conduct research in collaboration with faculty from the departments of Radiation Oncology and Oral Oncology at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in Buffalo.

“The current epidemic of opioids has impacted cancer care, especially for cancer pain relief. This treatment offers a simple, nondrug, noninvasive treatment approach to relieve pain and improve quality of life for cancer patients,” said Dr. Praveen Arany, assistant professor at the UB School of Dental Medicine. “The striking lab and clinical evidence for photobiomodulation treatments in supportive cancer care has demonstrated tremendous promise and is becoming popular,” Arany continued.

Oral mucositis is said to be the worst side effect of cancer treatment. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the condition occurs in close to 40 percent of patients receiving chemotherapy and nearly 80 percent of patients receiving radiation therapy for cancer. In addition to pain and comprised ability to eat or swallow, it may slow down or delay treatment and, in severe cases, require hospitalization and feeding tubes. “Given these significant adverse effects on the quality of life in our patients, it is a high priority for us to find new and better ways to prevent or treat this condition,” said Dr. Mukund Seshadri, professor and chair of the Department of Oral Oncology at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center.

The previous technologies that used light treatment were not affordable for wider use and were not able to determine its proper dosage to reduce pain and stimulate healing in tissues damaged by cancer treatment. “MuReva’s innovative mouthpiece, which can be self-administered, simultaneously targets a much larger portion of the oral cavity and delivers a full treatment in 6 minutes or less. We believe this technology has the potential to revolutionize the treatment for oral mucositis and finally present a market-ready solution to this debilitating side effect,” said Vedang Kothari, President and CEO of MuReva Phototherapy.

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