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MDPI, Current Oncology, 9(29), p. 6564-6572, 2022

DOI: 10.3390/curroncol29090516

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Relationship between Salivary Amylase and Xerostomia in Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy for Head and Neck Cancer: A Prospective Pilot Study

This paper is made freely available by the publisher.
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.

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Data provided by SHERPA/RoMEO

Abstract

Purpose. A single-institution prospective pilot study was conducted to the assess correlation between salivary amylase and xerostomia in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) treated with intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT). Methods and materials. Serum saliva amylase, clinician-reported xerostomia (using Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events), and patient-reported xerostomia (using 8-item self-reported xerostomia-specific questionnaire) were prospectively collected at baseline, during treatment and thereafter. Correlations between variables were assessed by correlation matrices. Results. Twelve patients with locally advanced HNSCC formed the cohort. Eighty-three percent were male, 75% were smokers, 100% had clinical positive lymph nodes at diagnosis, and 42% received induction chemotherapy. All patients received IMRT with concurrent cisplatin-based chemotherapy. No grade ≥4 xerostomia was observed. Severe (G3) acute and late xerostomia occurred in five cases (41.7%) and two cases (16.7%), respectively. Patient-reported xerostomia scores were highly correlated with the clinician-reported scores (ρ = 0.73). A significant correlation was recorded between the concentration of amylase and the acute (ρ = −0.70) and late (ρ = −0.80) xerostomia. Conclusion. Preliminary results are encouraging. Prospective clinical trials are needed to define the value of salivary amylase in the management of HNSCC tumors.