Vitamin D Deficiency and Oral Mucositis in Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation: A Cross-Sectional Observation

One of the most frequent complications of high-dose chemotherapy regimen before hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is oral mucositis (OM). Vitamin D (VD) has well-known immunoregulatory, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties.

This study aimed to evaluate the association of baseline VD levels with OM as well as neutrophil and platelet engraftments in patients with multiple myeloma, Hodgkin’s and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma after autologous HSCT.

A sample of 71 patients was included after obtaining informed consent. Serum samples were collected in the morning prior to the administration of conditioning regimen to measure the baseline 25-OH-D. OM was examined daily during hospital stay. The WHO scale was used for scoring the OM. Absolute neutrophil count and platelet count were determined daily from transplantation until engraftment.

Patients aged between 18 to 65 years. Mean length of hospital stay was 15.8±5.7 days. OM was detected in 44/71 (62.0%) of patients. Mean time to the engraftment of neutrophils and platelets were 11.8±4.0 and 17.2±7.3 days, respectively. Mean level of baseline 25-OH-D was 17.5±14.0 ng/ml. VD deficiency (<20 ng/ml) was diagnosed in 51/71 (71.8%) of patients. No association between baseline 25-OH-D levels and the incidence of OM (P=0.69) or OM grade 3-4 (P=0.46) was found. No significant correlations were detected between the baseline 25-OH-D and engraftment time of neutrophils (P=0.46) or platelets (P=0.17).

The prevalence of VD deficiency was high among adult HSCT patients at the time of transplantation. No association was found between low baseline VD with post-HSCT OM and engraftment time.