Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39005202›Full record

Observational studyOral diseases2025

Females have lower salivary flow than males, before and after radiation therapy for head/neck cancer.

Rajesh V Lalla, Erika S Helgeson, Komal Virk, Han Lu, Nathaniel S Treister, Thomas P Sollecito, Brian L Schmidt, Lauren L Patton, Alexander Lin, Michael T Brennan

Registry-linked trialAbstract readComparative StudyMulticenter StudyObservational Study
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Observational study in Oral diseases, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT02057510 (Clinical Registry of Dental Outcomes in Head and Neck Cancer Patients), which is not on this map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

NCT02057510 completednot on this map

Clinical Registry of Dental Outcomes in Head and Neck Cancer Patients

Typeobservational_patient_registrySponsorWake Forest University Health SciencesRan2014 to 2020Enrolled613ConditionsHead and Neck Cancer, Dental Disease, Xerostomia, Osteoradionecrosis
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Rajesh V LallaSection of Oral Medicine, University of Connecticut School of Dental Medicine, Farmington, Connecticut, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7662-6937
Erika S HelgesonDivision of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
Komal VirkDivision of General Dentistry, University of Connecticut School of Dental Medicine, Farmington, Connecticut, USA.
Han LuDivision of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
Nathaniel S TreisterDivision of Oral Medicine and Dentistry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5596-7222
Thomas P SollecitoDepartment of Oral Medicine, University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Brian L SchmidtDepartment of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery and Bluestone Center for Clinical Research, New York University College of Dentistry, New York, New York, USA.
Lauren L PattonDivision of Craniofacial and Surgical Care, Adams School of Dentistry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
Alexander LinDepartment of Radiation Oncology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Michael T BrennanDepartment of Oral Medicine/Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0638-4335

Funding

Long-term Oral Complications of an Established Head and Neck Cancer Cohort- Clinical Registry of Dental Outcomes in Head and Neck Cancer Patients: OraRadU01DE022939 · NIDCR · WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES · PI BRENNAN, MICHAEL T, LALLA, RAJESH V. · 2012 to 2023
$16.8M
NIDCR NIH HHS U01 DE022939
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveTo compare salivary flow rates between females and males, before and after radiation therapy (RT) for head and neck cancer (HNC).

methodsProspective observational multicenter cohort study (OraRad). Stimulated whole salivary flow was measured before RT and at 6 and 18 months after RT.

resultsMean (95% confidence interval) salivary flow in g/min before RT was 0.81 (0.71, 0.90) in females (n = 107) and 1.20 (1.15, 1.25) in males (n = 391) (p < 0.001); at 6 months was 0.34 (0.24, 0.44) in females and 0.50 (0.44, 0.55) in males (p = 0.01); at 18 months was 0.49 (0.38, 0.59) in females and 0.70 (0.64, 0.75) in males (p < 0.001). Median nadir salivary flow after RT was 0.22 in females and 0.35 in males (p < 0.001). A lower nadir salivary flow in females, but not males, was associated with an increased risk for tooth failure (p = 0.02).

conclusionsFemales with HNC have lower stimulated whole salivary flow than males, before and after RT. Low salivary flow after RT may be a risk factor for tooth failure among females. The lower pre-RT salivary flow rates in females, combined with prior literature in other populations, indicates that, in general, females have lower stimulated salivary flow than males.

Indexed as

Head and Neck NeoplasmsSalivaSalivationXerostomiaAdultAgedFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedProspective StudiesSex Factorshead and neck neoplasmsradiotherapysalivasextooth lossxerostomia

Identifiers

PMID39005202
PMCPMC13020639

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Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.