# Oral herpes simplex virus infection in patients undergoing chemotherapy – an integrative review

## TL;DR

This review explores how common and severe oral herpes infections are in cancer patients receiving chemotherapy.

## Contribution

The study provides an integrative review of HSV prevalence and management in chemotherapy patients.

## Key findings

- HSV infection is widespread and severe in chemotherapy patients.
- Early antiviral treatment is recommended to prevent complications in immunocompromised patients.

## Abstract

The purpose of this study is to undertake an integrative literature review in order to determine the prevalence, etiology, and reactivation of oral HSV infection in patients receiving chemotherapy (CT).

The study was carried out in the PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase, Virtual Health Library, and Scopus databases, using the descriptors “Herpes Simplex”, “Viral Diseases”, “Mouth”, and “Antineoplastic Agents”.

The findings suggest that HSV infection is widespread in this group of patients and can be severe. HSV infection is frequent in CT patients, and treatment should begin as soon as it is feasible, utilizing antivirals to avoid future difficulties, as patients are immunocompromised.

It is critical for health professionals to be fully informed on the dangers and treatment choices available, with the most appropriate therapy for each circumstance. Furthermore, more recent research with acceptable methodological rigor is required to better quantify the prevalence of HSV in these patients.