# Honey for radiation mucositis

Source: https://onco.cc/technologies/honey-radiation-mucositis/  
OnCo record `honey-radiation-mucositis` (Technology). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Swallowing honey before and after head and neck radiotherapy sessions reduced mouth ulcers in several small trials, mostly from single centres, but the studies are of low quality and mucositis guidelines could not make a recommendation either way.

## Summary

Honey has antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties and coats the mucosa. Small randomised trials, largely from single centres in Asia and the Middle East, report lower rates of severe oral mucositis when patients swallow or apply honey around radiotherapy fractions. The 2020 MASCC/ISOO guidelines reviewed these and concluded that no guideline was possible because of inconsistent results and study quality; a reduction in weight loss was noted in some trials. Honey is inexpensive and safe in adults (it should be avoided in infants and used with care in diabetes and in patients with severe dental disease because of its sugar content). Standard mucositis prevention rests on oral care protocols, photobiomodulation and, for specific regimens, oral cryotherapy or palifermin.

## Fields

- Kind: Technology
- Status: phase-2
- Last checked: 2026-09-10
- Tags: complementary; supportive-care; evidence:insufficient
- Principle: Viscous coating, osmotic antibacterial effect and anti-inflammatory phenolics may reduce mucosal injury and secondary infection.
- Strengths: Cheap, safe, easy; Several small positive trials
- Limitations: Low-quality single-centre studies; MASCC/ISOO 2020: no guideline possible; Sugar load and dental caries risk

## Sources

- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey
- MASCC/ISOO clinical practice guidelines for mucositis (Cancer 2020): https://doi.org/10.1002/cncr.33100

## Connected records

- technologies: [Evidence-based integrative oncology](https://onco.cc/technologies/integrative-oncology/), [Oral cryotherapy (ice chips) to prevent mucositis](https://onco.cc/technologies/oral-cryotherapy-mucositis/), [Photobiomodulation (low-level laser) for oral mucositis](https://onco.cc/technologies/photobiomodulation-mucositis/)
- cancers: [Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/head-and-neck/)
- fronts: [Radiation Therapy](https://onco.cc/fronts/radiation/), [Supportive Care & Survivorship](https://onco.cc/fronts/supportive-care/)
- institutions: [Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer](https://onco.cc/institutions/mascc/)
- terms: [Mucositis and stomatitis](https://onco.cc/terms/mucositis/)
- bottlenecks: [Toxicity and quality of life are undervalued](https://onco.cc/bottlenecks/b-toxicity-qol/)
- key papers: [MASCC/ISOO clinical practice guidelines for the management of mucositis secondary to cancer therapy](https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-elad-cancer/)

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