Cancer treatment-related xerostomia: basics, therapeutics, and future perspectives.

Publisher: BioMed Central Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 9517857 Publication Model: Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 2047-783X (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 09492321 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Eur J Med Res Subsets: MEDLINE

Publication: Jan. 2012- : London : BioMed Central
Original Publication: Munich, Germany : I. Holzapfel, c1995-

Neoplasms*/complications ; Neoplasms*/therapy ; Xerostomia*/etiology ; Xerostomia*/psychology ; Xerostomia*/therapy; Humans ; Antineoplastic Agents/adverse effects ; Hyperbaric Oxygenation/methods ; Quality of Life

Xerostomia, generally addressed as dry mouth, poses significant challenges to patients' quality of life, particularly in the context of cancer treatment. Although various medications and interventions, including salivary substitutes and stimulants, muscarinic agonists, antineoplastic detoxifying agents, anti-inflammatory agents, superoxide dismutase mimetics, mesenchymal stem cells, submandibular gland transfer, intensity-modulated radiation therapy, dose fractionation, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, photobiomodulation, acupuncture, and nutritional interventions, have been proposed for this condition, no approved or definite treatments are currently available. Moreover, the evidence supporting the efficacy of proposed interventions remains limited and subject to controversy in terms of safety, efficacy, and optimal protocol. This review provides a comprehensive insight into cancer treatment-related xerostomia, underlying its pathophysiology, etiology, clinical manifestation, and therapeutic options, providing a clinical guide for clinicians to adopt a patient-tailored approach to cancer treatment-related xerostomia and offering vision on current ongoing and future studies in the field.
Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: Not applicable. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The lead author is currently an associate editor of the European Journal of Medical Research. The authors declare no other competing interests.
(© 2024. The Author(s).)

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Keywords: Cancer treatment-associated xerostomia; Cancer-related salivary dysfunction; Head and neck cancer; Muscarinic agonists; Palliative care; Radiotherapy; Xerostomia

0 (Antineoplastic Agents)

Date Created: 20241129 Date Completed: 20241130 Latest Revision: 20241210

20241210

PMC11607820

10.1186/s40001-024-02167-x

39614391