PURPOSE: Dry mouth (xerostomia) is one of the commonest symptoms in cancer patients and can adversely affect quality of life. The aim of this review was to determine the effectiveness of pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions in treating xerostomia in adult advanced cancer patients. METHODS: The literature search was performed in February 2014 using databases including EMBASE, MEDLINE, CINAHL, BNI and Cochrane library. The search was carried out using standard MeSH terms and was limited to adult population and English language. Studies investigating xerostomia secondary to head and neck cancer treatment and autoimmune disease were excluded. Titles and abstracts were screened and reviewed for eligibility. Only studies involving primary research were included in the analysis. RESULTS: Six studies met the eligibility criteria for review: three randomized controlled trials and three prospective studies. The quality assessment and reporting was performed using PRISMA, Jadad and STROBE. These studies compared acupuncture, pilocarpine, Saliva Orthana and chewing gum with each other or with placebo. All interventions were considered effective in treating xerostomia. However, effectiveness versus placebo could not be demonstrated for Saliva Orthana. Meta-analysis could not be performed due to heterogeneity of the study type and intervention. CONCLUSION: Limited published data exists reporting the effectiveness of measures in the treatment of xerostomia in cancer patients. Based on primary research of low quality, firm conclusions cannot be drawn. However, pilocarpine, artificial saliva, chewing gum and acupuncture can be tried based on the available data. This highlights the explicit need to improve our evidence base. Properly constructed randomized controlled trials demonstrating effectiveness of pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions for dry mouth are required.
PURPOSE:Dry mouth (xerostomia) is one of the commonest symptoms in cancerpatients and can adversely affect quality of life. The aim of this review was to determine the effectiveness of pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions in treating xerostomia in adult advanced cancerpatients. METHODS: The literature search was performed in February 2014 using databases including EMBASE, MEDLINE, CINAHL, BNI and Cochrane library. The search was carried out using standard MeSH terms and was limited to adult population and English language. Studies investigating xerostomia secondary to head and neck cancer treatment and autoimmune disease were excluded. Titles and abstracts were screened and reviewed for eligibility. Only studies involving primary research were included in the analysis. RESULTS: Six studies met the eligibility criteria for review: three randomized controlled trials and three prospective studies. The quality assessment and reporting was performed using PRISMA, Jadad and STROBE. These studies compared acupuncture, pilocarpine, Saliva Orthana and chewing gum with each other or with placebo. All interventions were considered effective in treating xerostomia. However, effectiveness versus placebo could not be demonstrated for Saliva Orthana. Meta-analysis could not be performed due to heterogeneity of the study type and intervention. CONCLUSION: Limited published data exists reporting the effectiveness of measures in the treatment of xerostomia in cancerpatients. Based on primary research of low quality, firm conclusions cannot be drawn. However, pilocarpine, artificial saliva, chewing gum and acupuncture can be tried based on the available data. This highlights the explicit need to improve our evidence base. Properly constructed randomized controlled trials demonstrating effectiveness of pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions for dry mouth are required.
Authors: Inger von Bültzingslöwen; Thomas P Sollecito; Philip C Fox; Troy Daniels; Roland Jonsson; Peter B Lockhart; David Wray; Michael T Brennan; Marco Carrozzo; Beatrice Gandera; Takashi Fujibayashi; Mahvash Navazesh; Nelson L Rhodus; Morten Schiødt Journal: Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol Endod Date: 2007-03
Authors: Caroline Gomes Carvalho; João Batista Medeiros-Filho; Meire Coelho Ferreira Journal: Support Care Cancer Date: 2018-02-22 Impact factor: 3.603
Authors: Jac A Jones; Yanin Chavarri-Guerra; Luisa Barreto Costa Corrêa; David R Dean; Joel B Epstein; Eduardo R Fregnani; Jiyeon Lee; Yuhei Matsuda; Valeria Mercadante; Ragnhild Elisabeth Monsen; Natasja J H Rajimakers; Deborah Saunders; Enrique Soto-Perez-de-Celis; Mariana S Sousa; Arghavan Tonkaboni; Arjan Vissink; Keng Soon Yeoh; Andrew N Davies Journal: Support Care Cancer Date: 2022-06-18 Impact factor: 3.603