The aims of this project are two-fold: 1) To assess the effectiveness of different treatment modalities for oral cancer. Oral cancer is a significant disease globally with an estimated 268,000 new cases worldwide in 2000 and a high mortality rate of approximately 50%. 2) To assess the effectiveness of interventions for the management of oral complications associated with cancer and its treatment (oral mucositis, oral candidiasis, oral herpes simplex virus and salivary gland dysfunction). Treatment of cancer is becoming increasingly more effective but it is associated with short and long term side effects. Among the clinically important acute side effects is disruption in the function and integrity of the mouth. The experience of oral side effects can be debilitating and delay or prevent the provision of cancer treatment A substantial amount of resources are spent on research within the field of cancer. If the results of research are to be useful to clinical practice, they must be readily available to relevant healthcare professionals and decision makers. Systematic reviews are a way of providing key personnel with comprehensive unbiased overviews of the research evidence. Cochrane systematic reviews employ rigorous, scientific methods producing reviews which empirical research has shown to be of higher quality than systematic reviews/meta-analyses published in paper journals. A series of Cochrane systematic reviews (meta-analyses) will be undertaken, utilizing secondary data analyses, to summarize the evidence of randomized controlled trials investigating the benefits and harms of different treatment modalities for oral cancer and the management of oral complications associated with cancer and its treatment. ? ? ?
