Effects Of Traditional Chinese Medicine On Salivary Glands Of Patients With Head And Neck Cancer During Radiotherapy

OBJECTIVE:To observe the effects of Chinese herbal medicine on salivary glands in patients with head and neck during radiotherapy ( RT ).METHODS: Thirty-eight cases with head and neck cancer were randomly assigned into observation group treated with RT plus Chinese herbal medicine and control group treated with RT alone. The level of mouth dryness, pH value, the flow rate and the salivary amylase concentration of saliva were measured before and during the RT.RESULTS: The severity of mouth dryness increased during RT. The flow rate ,pH value and salivary amylase concen- tration of observation group were significantly higher than those of the control group at 10,20,30and 40Gy. But when the RT dose arrived at 50 or 60 Gy, the data from two groups tend to be close to each other. Besides,there is not noticeable interrelation between the dryness of patients and the salivary flow rate. CONCLUSION: Chinese herbal medicine used in the study was effective to relieve the severity of dryness and to protect the salivary glands of patients with head and neck ancer during RT to some degree. In addition,the dryness　of　patients is not a dependable indictor of the level of lesion to salivary glands.