Pentoxifylline - a review of its use in osteoradionecrosis

A J Lyons; P A Brennan

doi:10.1016/j.bjoms.2016.12.006

Pentoxifylline - a review of its use in osteoradionecrosis

Br J Oral Maxillofac Surg. 2017 Apr;55(3):230-234. doi: 10.1016/j.bjoms.2016.12.006. Epub 2016 Dec 27.

Authors

A J Lyons¹, P A Brennan²

Affiliations

¹ Head and Neck Unit, Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, London SE1 9RT. Electronic address: Andrew.lyons@gstt.nhs.uk.
² Maxillofacial Unit, Queen Alexandra Hospital, Portsmouth PO6 3LY, UK. Electronic address: Peter.brennan@porthosp.nhs.uk.

PMID: 28034471
DOI: 10.1016/j.bjoms.2016.12.006

Abstract

Pentoxifylline has been used to treat complications related to fibrosis for over 20 years. Formerly used to treat those after radiotherapy such as osteoradionecrosis (ORN), it is now being tried for medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (MRONJ), which can occur after prolonged use of bisphosphonates. We review theories on the formation of fibrosis in patients with ORN, discuss the pharmacology of pentoxifylline and vitamin E, and report published outcomes. To our knowledge no prospective randomised controlled trial has investigated the benefits of these agents in cases of ORN, but reported outcomes in many published case series are encouraging.

Keywords: Pentoxifylline; head and neck; osteoradionecrosis; radiotherapy; review.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Humans
Jaw Diseases / drug therapy*
Osteoradionecrosis / drug therapy*
Pentoxifylline / therapeutic use*

Substances

Pentoxifylline