Photobiomodulation in Mucositis - Section 2. PBM Clinical Series, #4

SECTION 2 - PREVENTION, PRECISION AND MUCOSAL REHABILITATIONMucositis is a dynamic biological syndrome involving epithelial injury, mitochondrial dysfunction, inflammatory amplification, vascular and neural alterations, microbial ecosystems and impaired tissue repair. Volume III of the PBM Clinical Series is published in two complementary sections. Section 1 established the biological, technological and clinical foundations of mucosal photomedicine, addressing PBM mechanisms, tissue optics, devices, oncological safety and the site-specific management of oral, oropharyngeal, oesophageal, gastrointestinal, anorectal, gynaecological and paediatric mucositis.
Section 2 moves from these foundations to integrated therapeutic strategy. It examines risk-adapted prevention, early and grade-adapted treatment, severe and refractory mucositis, late mucosal injury and functional rehabilitation. PBM is positioned within multimodal supportive care alongside hygiene, nutrition, hydration, analgesia, infection prevention and functional, pelvic, sexual and psychological rehabilitation.
A central focus is precision mucosal photomedicine: translating device settings into target dose, mapping anatomical treatment volumes, accounting for optical variability, personalising protocols and defining clinically meaningful response. Digital imaging, artificial intelligence, predictive models, smart dosimetry, connected care and digital mucosal twins are examined together with their ethical and regulatory implications.
The final chapters translate evidence into recommendations and implementation. They describe how to establish a PBM mucositis programme, organise multidisciplinary teams, assure calibration and traceability, design the next generation of clinical trials and prepare for adaptive, closed-loop and home-based treatments. A comprehensive Practical Clinical Handbook provides assessment sheets, protocol cards, decision algorithms, dosimetry worksheets, safety tools and patient information resources.
This second section provides the operational bridge from evidence to practice: delivering the appropriate optical intervention to a defined mucosal target, at the appropriate biological phase, within a coordinated pathway of precision supportive oncology.