ArticleMolecular and clinical oncology2017
Assessment of xerostomia and its impact on quality of life in head and neck cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy.
Article in Molecular and clinical oncology, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 29 citations in OpenAlex.
- Mesenchymal Stromal/Stem Cell Therapy Improves Salivary Flow Rate in Radiation-Induced Salivary Gland Hypofunction in Preclinical in vivo Models: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Stem cell reviews and reports · 2024Pooled it
- Sodium-hyaluronate mouthwash on radiotherapy-induced xerostomia: a randomised clinical trial.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2023Trial
- Diffusion-weighted imaging as a follow-up modality for evaluation of major salivary gland function in nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients: a preliminary study.Strahlentherapie und Onkologie : Organ der Deutschen Rontgengesellschaft ... [et al] · 2020Trial
- Post-radiotherapy xerostomia and quality of life in head and neck cancer patients.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026Article
- Radiation-Induced Fibrosis in Head and Neck Cancer: Challenges and Future Therapeutic Strategies for Vocal Fold Treatments.Cancers · 2025Review
- Patient-reported outcomes in head and neck cancer: a cross-sectional analysis of quality of life domains across early and advanced UICC stages.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2025Article
- Salivary toxicity from PSMA-targeted radiopharmaceuticals: What we have learned and where we are going.Cancer treatment reviews · 2024Review
- The Prevalence of Xerostomia in Older Thai Individuals with Type II Diabetes Mellitus and Its Association with Type of Toothpaste and Oral Functions: A Cross-Sectional Study Using Questionnaires.Geriatrics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Mesenchymal stromal/stem cell therapy for radiation-induced salivary gland hypofunction in animal models: a protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis.Systematic reviews · 2022Article
- A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Cross-Over Study to Evaluate the Efficacy of AqualiefCancers · 2021Article
- Patient-Reported Outcomes-Guided Adaptive Radiation Therapy for Head and Neck Cancer.Frontiers in oncology · 2021Article
- Observational
- Quality of Life, Anxiety, and Depression in the Head-and-Neck Cancer Patients, Undergoing Intensity-Modulated Radiotherapy Treatment.Indian journal of palliative careArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Xerostomia in head and neck (H&N) cancer patients significantly affects their quality of life (QoL). The aim of the present study was to investigate the associations among QoL, xerostomia and quantity of saliva in a sample of H&N cancer patients who had received conventional radiotherapy (RT). A total of 60 H&N adult patients were enrolled in this prospective study. The patients completed the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire-Core 30 (QLQ-C30), the Quality of Life Questionnaire Head and Neck Module (QLQ-H&N35) and the Greek version of the XQ questionnaire at 4 timepoints: At the beginning of RT, at the end of RT, 6 months after RT completion and 1 year after RT completion. Patients with distant metastases or serious comorbidities were excluded from the study. Salivary pH, and stimulated and unstimulated salivary flow rate were assessed. All functional scales and symptom scales, apart from cognitive functioning in QLQ-C30 and feeding tube in H&N35 exhibited an abrupt deterioration at timepoint 3 and were then gradually restored over time. The difference was statistically significant (P<0.001). XQ scores at different timepoints exhibited a statistically significant negative correlation with salivary flow rates. Salivary flow rate and XQ scores almost parallelled one another. Flow rates recovered at a mean level of 20% below baseline values at the end of the follow-up period. The subjective symptom of xerostomia parallelled salivary flow and QoL. Despite receiving conventional RT, the participants exhibited a considerable preservation of salivary gland function after 12 months, allowing some optimism regarding the course of xerostomia in selected patients.
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Registered trials
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