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

Mohammad-Salar Hosseini, Ata Mahmoodpoor, Sarvin Sanaie, Mahdi Zarei, Saba Jabbari Beyrami, Hossein Jabbari Beyrami, Shirin Fattahi, Farid Jahanshahlou, Alireza Rahimi Mamaghani, Mahshid Kuchaki Rafsanjani

Journal: European journal of medical research 2024;29(1):571

PMID: 39614391

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Abstract

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.

Address: Research Center for Integrative Medicine in Aging, Aging Research Institute, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Golgasht Street, Tabriz, 51666, EA, Iran. [email protected].; Hematology and Oncology Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran. [email protected].; Clinical Research Development Unit of Tabriz Valiasr Hospital, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran. [email protected].; Research Center for Integrative Medicine in Aging, Aging Research Institute, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Golgasht Street, Tabriz, 51666, EA, Iran. [email protected].; Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.; Department of Oral Medicine, Faculty of Dentistry, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.; Research Center for Evidence-Based Medicine, Iranian EBM Center: A JBI Center of Excellence, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.; Department of Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.; Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, Faculty of Dentistry, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.; Research Center for Integrative Medicine in Aging, Aging Research Institute, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Golgasht Street, Tabriz, 51666, EA, Iran.; Research Center for Evidence-Based Medicine, Iranian EBM Center: A JBI Center of Excellence, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.; Clinical Research Development Unit of Tabriz Valiasr Hospital, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.

DOI: 10.1186/s40001-024-02167-x

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https://medlineplus.gov/drymouth.html

MeSH Terms: Humans, Antineoplastic Agents, Hyperbaric Oxygenation, Neoplasms, Quality of Life, Xerostomia