Mucosite oral induzida em ratos wistar tratados com atorvastatina -determinação do potencial preventivo, número de leucócitos e processo de caquexia.

Abstract

Oral mucositis affects about 100% of patients undergoing head and neck radiation therapy and those undergoing concurrent treatment, and about 80% of those undergoing chemotherapy. 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) is a widely used chemotherapy drug for cancer treatment, but has numerous side effects such as oral mucositis, cachexia and leukopenia. The aim of this study is to investigate the preventive potential of atorvastatin on the effects of 5-FU, since recent studies have shown a beneficial action of atorvastatin on exacerbated weight loss. For the development of this study, Wistar rats were divided into groups [Group I (5-FU + 1mg atorvastatin); Group II (5-FU + 5mg atorvastatin); Group III (5-FU + 10mg atorvastatin); and Control Group (5-FU + 0.9% Saline Solution)]. Based on the histological analysis, the 1mg atorvastatin dosage maintained the integrity of the jugal mucosa of the animals with epithelial layer thickening, when compared to animals in Groups II and III which showed slight inflammatory infiltrate and a thin keratin layer. The global leukocyte count showed that the use of 1mg atorvastatin did not increase the number of leukocytes, as seen in Groups II and III, keeping the leukogram within the minimum standard values, especially in Group III. After induction of oral mucositis with the use of 5-FU and scarification of the mucosae, severe cachexia occurred in Group I, while in Groups II and III there was an improvement in weight loss with a tendency towards weight gain. The preventive potential of atorvastatin in Wistar rats was determined, and the 10mg/kg/day dose was defined as the most indicated.