Abstract: Objective: To evaluate the prophylactic effects of honey use on radio or chemotherapy-induced oral mucositis and associated pain. Methods: Such databases as The Cochrane Library, PubMed, Web of Science, CBM, VIP, CNKI and Wanfang Data were searched up to September 2018 for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) about honey use on radio or chemotherapy-induced oral mucositis and associated pain. According to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, two reviewers independently screened each database, extracted data, and assessed the methodological quality of included studies. Then meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.3 software. Results: Fifteen RCTs involving 856 patients were included. The meta-analysis showed that honey was significantly better in lowering the risk of mucositis [RR=0.48, 95% CI (0.35, 0.66), P<0.001], pain associated with mucositis (P<0.05), mouth fungal colonization [RR=0.21, 95% CI (0.09, 0.49), P<0.001], treatment interruptions [RR=0.10, 95% CI (0.01, 0.75), P=0.02] and weight loss [MD=-3.72, 95% CI (-6.86, -0.57), P=0.02]. And honey use could also delay the onset of severe mucositis. Conclusion: Current evidence shows that honey is a reasonable treatment for radio or chemotherapy-induced oral mucositis and associated pain, but more RCTs are still needed.

Key words: honey; oral mucositis; systematic review; randomized controlled trial