PENTOXIFYLLINE AND TOCOPHEROL IN THE TREATMENT OF OSTEORADIONECROSIS OF JAW – AN UPDATE

Abstract

Osteoradionecrosis of jaw is one of the significant complications of radiotherapy in head and neck cancer patients. This article reviews pathophysiology and newer treatment options for osteoradionecrosis. Newer modalities of treatment include combination therapy of pentoxifylline and tocopherol for osteoradionecrosis. In this article basic information about pentoxifylline and tocopherol and recent reports of their clinical application in the treatment of osteoradionecrosis of jaw is reviewed. Literature Reports show that these drugs offer potentially curative therapy for osteoradionecrosis and requires further high quality clinical trial evaluation.