Short‐term and long‐term unstimulated saliva flow following unilateral vs bilateral radiotherapy for oropharyngeal carcinoma

xlomafota13 shared this article with you from Inoreader Short‐term and long‐term unstimulated saliva flow following unilateral vs bilateral radiotherapy for oropharyngeal carcinoma Via Head & Neck Abstract Background We aimed to compare unstimulated saliva flow using 3‐minute modified Schirmer test (MST) following bilateral vs unilateral radiotherapy (RT) in oropharyngeal carcinoma (OPC). Methods We reviewed OPC patients treated with definitive intensity‐modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) between 2011 and 2017. MST was measured at baseline, 1‐/6‐/12‐/24‐month post‐RT. MST values were compared between bilateral‐RT vs unilateral‐RT groups. Multivariable logistic regression analysis (MVA) identified predictors of hyposalivation (MST < 25 mm). Results Total 498 bilateral‐RT and 36 unilateral‐RT patients were eligible. The MST values at 1‐/6‐/12‐/24‐month post‐RT were all significantly reduced from baseline for the entire cohort. Baseline unilateral‐RT and bilateral‐RT MST values (in mm) were similar (P = .2), but much higher for unilateral‐RT 1‐month (mean: 19.1 vs 13.0, P = .03), 6‐month (20.5 vs 9.3, P < .001), 12‐month (20.1 vs 11.9, P < .01), and 24‐month post‐RT (22.2 vs 13.9, P = .04). MVA confirmed that unilateral RT reduced the likelihood of hyposalivation vs bilateral RT (OR 2.36, P = .006). Conclusion Unilateral RT reduces unstimulated salivary flow in OPC patients. View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.