Xerostomía y radioterapia de cabeza y cuello: actualización

Radiation therapy is a key component in the multidisciplinary treatment of head-and-neck malignancies. In these cases, salivary glands are irradiated with high-level doses, which, among other side effects, results in a progressive and irreversible decrease in the salivary output. Radiation-induced xerostomia is the most common side effect of the head and neck region after radiotherapy treatment, and highly impairs the patients' long-term quality of life, threatening physiological functions, essentially speaking and swallowing. Given the complexity and early appearance of this symptom, its prevention is the most effective solution. In the past decades, the development of new radiation delivery techniques, such as intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), along with the administration of radioprotective drugs and autologous submandibular gland transplantation, seem to reduce the dose reaching the salivary glands, which in turn improves the patients' perception of dry mouth.