CKS is no longer commissioned by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE). NICE remains committed to providing a replacement service for CKS and is currently reviewing its options. In the meantime, although CKS content is now not being maintained, it still remains relevant and will continue to be made available. CKS content was generated under a programme of topic creation and update. To check if the topic you are viewing is current or out of date, please refer to the topic publication details by clicking on the 'How up-to-date is this topic?' link in the left hand menu on individual topic pages.
Palliative cancer care - oral problems - Background information
What are the causes of the most common oral symptoms?
Symptoms may be related to each other (i.e. have a common underlying cause).
- Oral health requires an intact oral mucosa, normal production of saliva, and an intact immune system. Alteration of any of these (e.g. owing to poor oral intake, drug treatments, local irradiation, oral tumours, or chemotherapy) may result in oral problems. Infection commonly complicates dryness or ulceration of the mucosa.
- Common oral problems include:
- Less common problem:
[Doyle et al, 2004; Regnard and Hockley, 2004]
© NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement