OBJECTIVES Radiation therapy (RT) has become an established treatment modality for head and neck cancer (HNC), either for treatment alone or as adjuvant. Although new strategies have been developed to prevent hyposalivation, including changes in RT protocols and pharmacologic approaches, in most cases, salivary gland hypofunction is a common and permanent adverse effect that cannot be avoided. The aim of this retrospective observational study was to evaluate the reduction of xerostomia symptoms due to radiotherapy (RT) after the utilization of a new hyaluronic-based mouthwash, by using a modified version of the Xerostomia Questionnaire (XQ) and to assess the improvement of Quality of Life (QoL) by using EORTC QLQ-C30 and QLQ-H&N35 questionnaires, in a cohort of Head and Neck Cancer (HNC) patients.MATERIALS AND METHODS The protocol was approved by the ethical committee of the "Universita Cattolica del Sacro Cuore" (Ref. 22858/18). A retrospective evaluation of the clinical charts of HNC patients attending the Oral Medicine, Head and Neck Department - Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli - IRCSS was done and the scores of the above-mentioned questionnaires of patients who received a prescription of Hydral mouthwash (Sunstar Italiana srl, Saronno, VA, Italy) to reduce xerostomia symptoms were collected, at baseline and after one month of treatment.RESULTS Thirty-four patients were included in the final analysis. The modified XQ is the questionnaire which presented, at the end of the study, the more remarkable reduction of the mean score: 10.05% of improvement (Student's t-test, p <0.05). Both the QLQ-C30 and the QLQ-H&N35 questionnaire showed a slight decrease, although not statistically significant.CONCLUSIONS This new mouthwash seems to be clinically effective in reducing symptoms related to RT-induced xerostomia. No adverse events were reported in this study.CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE There is currently poor evidence about the treatment of hyposalivation and xerostomia in HNC patients. This study aims to test a product which can be easily used up to five times per day by patients in order to ameliorate the xerostomia symptoms.
Sodium hyaluronate based mouthwash in the management of radiotherapy induced xerostomia
Contaldo, M;
2023
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Radiation therapy (RT) has become an established treatment modality for head and neck cancer (HNC), either for treatment alone or as adjuvant. Although new strategies have been developed to prevent hyposalivation, including changes in RT protocols and pharmacologic approaches, in most cases, salivary gland hypofunction is a common and permanent adverse effect that cannot be avoided. The aim of this retrospective observational study was to evaluate the reduction of xerostomia symptoms due to radiotherapy (RT) after the utilization of a new hyaluronic-based mouthwash, by using a modified version of the Xerostomia Questionnaire (XQ) and to assess the improvement of Quality of Life (QoL) by using EORTC QLQ-C30 and QLQ-H&N35 questionnaires, in a cohort of Head and Neck Cancer (HNC) patients.MATERIALS AND METHODS The protocol was approved by the ethical committee of the "Universita Cattolica del Sacro Cuore" (Ref. 22858/18). A retrospective evaluation of the clinical charts of HNC patients attending the Oral Medicine, Head and Neck Department - Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli - IRCSS was done and the scores of the above-mentioned questionnaires of patients who received a prescription of Hydral mouthwash (Sunstar Italiana srl, Saronno, VA, Italy) to reduce xerostomia symptoms were collected, at baseline and after one month of treatment.RESULTS Thirty-four patients were included in the final analysis. The modified XQ is the questionnaire which presented, at the end of the study, the more remarkable reduction of the mean score: 10.05% of improvement (Student's t-test, p <0.05). Both the QLQ-C30 and the QLQ-H&N35 questionnaire showed a slight decrease, although not statistically significant.CONCLUSIONS This new mouthwash seems to be clinically effective in reducing symptoms related to RT-induced xerostomia. No adverse events were reported in this study.CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE There is currently poor evidence about the treatment of hyposalivation and xerostomia in HNC patients. This study aims to test a product which can be easily used up to five times per day by patients in order to ameliorate the xerostomia symptoms.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
