Prevention of Chemotherapy-related Oral Mucositis by Topical Timolol: A Prospective Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled Clinical Trial in Cancer Patients

The results of this preliminary clinical trial demonstrated that among the patients receiving doxorubicin or 5-FU chemotherapy regimens, the preventive use of timolol mouthwash significantly diminished the severity of OM compared to the control group during the seven weeks of follow-up. The severity of pain was also significantly lower during the first three weeks of the study; however, the effect size was less than the minimal clinically important difference. Further studies are required to assess both the long-term efficacy and safety of timolol mouthwash in preventing OM.