Plasma prostaglandins in mucositis due to radiotherapy and chemotherapy for head and neck cancer.

Patients with head and neck cancer were treated with synchronous radiotherapy and chemotherapy (vincristine, bleomycin and methotrexate). Before treatment, mucositis was absent and low amounts of prostaglandin-like material were extracted from peripheral plasma. As treatment proceeded mucositis occurred, and its degree correlated with the amount of prostaglandin-like material extracted from the plasma. Some patients were given moderate doses of drugs which inhibit prostaglandin synthesis, but mucositis still occurred.