The Effect of Coffee in the Prevention of Oral Mucositis Associated with Head and Neck Radiotherapy

AIM: This study investigates the effect of coffee on the management of oral mucositis associated with head and neck radiotherapy. METHOD: Twenty-nine patients who underwent radiotherapy for the first time due to head and neck cancer between March 2019 and February 2020 were included in the experimental study. One cup/day of Turkish coffee (6 mg) was given to the patients in the intervention group every day for 3 weeks from the first day of radiotherapy. Data monitoring of both groups was performed once a week for 3 weeks. RESULTS: Most of the patients participating in the study were at local stage (65.2%), and 72.4% underwent head and neck radiotherapy with the diagnosis of nasopharynx and larynx cancer. Although the development rate of oral mucositis was lower in the intervention group, no statistically significant difference was determined (p > 0.05). In the repeated follow-up, the quality of life scores was found to be similar in both groups. CONCLUSION: We concluded that coffee application is not an effective approach in the prevention of oral mucositis associated with head and neck radiotherapy. Further studies with larger sample sizes are needed to determine the prophylactic effect of coffee in the management of oral mucositis.