A novel method to evaluate salivary flow rates of head and neck cancer patients after radiotherapy: a pilot study

Abstract

Introduction: The procedure used to evaluate salivary flow rate is called sialometry. It can be performed through several techniques, but none appears to be really efficient for post-radiotherapy patients. Objective: To adequate sialometry tests for head and neck cancer patients submitted to radiotherapy. Methods: 22 xerostomic patients post-radiotherapy (total radiation dose ranging from 60 to 70 Gy) were included in this study. Ten patients were evaluated using sialometries originally proposed by the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group and twelve were assessed by our modified methods. Unstimulated and stimulated sialometries were performed and the results were classified according a grading scale and compared between both groups. Results: There was no statistically significant difference between the salivary evaluations of both groups (p = 0.4487 and p = 0.5615). Also, most of these rates were classified as very low and low. Conclusion: This novel method seems to be suitable for patients submitted to radiotherapy.