ArticleAdvances in radiation oncology2026
Radiation-Induced Volume Changes in the Parotid and Submandibular Glands, Intragland Dose Distribution, and Quality of Life Scores Over a Long Follow-Up Period.
Article in Advances in radiation oncology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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.
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
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
12 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Purpose: Xerostomia remains a common toxicity after head and neck radiation therapy that significantly impacts patients' quality of life. Although intensity modulated radiation therapy reduces the dose to the salivary glands, many patients still experience salivary gland toxicity. Methods and Materials: This study examined the association between radiation-induced volume changes in the parotid and submandibular glands, mean dose to the salivary glands, and intragland dose distribution, as well as its relationship to quality of life scores, over a median follow-up period of 47 months. Results: Analysis of 329 patients using a linear mixed-effects model revealed distinct volume change patterns. The parotid glands initially underwent significant volume reduction but subsequently showed dose-dependent recovery, increasing in volume by an average rate of 2.4% per doubling of time. This recovery was negatively impacted by higher age and poor performance status (PS). Conversely, the submandibular glands gradually reduced in volume over time by 5.3% per doubling of time without evidence of recovery, even at low doses. Voxel-wise analysis of the parotid glands indicated that dose constraints targeting the cranial-ventral-lateral portion were critical for accurately predicting volume recovery. No regional dose effects were found for the submandibular gland. Persistent associations were found between salivary gland volumes and chronic xerostomia symptoms, including dry mouth and sticky saliva. Conclusions: Objective measurement of salivary gland volume can be used as an indicator of damage and recovery. The observed differential longitudinal patterns suggest that distinct dosing strategies and regenerative approaches may be necessary for the parotid and submandibular glands.
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.