Objective: To investigate the severity of xerostomia and its impact on the quality of life in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma after conventional radiation therapy. Methods: One hundred and thirty-six patients w...Objective: To investigate the severity of xerostomia and its impact on the quality of life in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma after conventional radiation therapy. Methods: One hundred and thirty-six patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma, treated by conventional radiation therapy in Cancer Center, Sun Yat-sen University, were surveyed by interview at the outpatient department. A questionnaire and a visual analog scale (VAS) were used to analyze xerostomia and xerostomia-related problems. Results: Of 136 patints, 73.5% experienced a moderate to severe degree of xerostomia; 82.4% had to sip water to facilitate speech; 92.6% had to sip water to facilitate chewing and swallowing; 91.2% changed their feeding pattern (eating only mashed food); 61.3% had to wake up to drink water because of dry mouth; 75.0% had dental lesions to varying degrees. Conclusion: 73.5% of the patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma after conventional radiation therapy experienced a moderate to severe degree of xerostomia. Xerostomia has a significant impact on the patient's speech, deglutition, and sleep, and can increase the morbidity of the dental diseases.展开更多
Xerostomia is the main complication inflicting head and neck cancer patients treated with radiotherapy.Conventional treatment is not very effective in alleviating this morbidity.Biomedical strategies such as gene tran...Xerostomia is the main complication inflicting head and neck cancer patients treated with radiotherapy.Conventional treatment is not very effective in alleviating this morbidity.Biomedical strategies such as gene transfer and tissue engineering have made substantial progress that will potentially lead to successful new treatment options for this condition.This report reviews the process of radiation damage to the salivary glands and the advances in functional salivary gland enhancement with these two brand-new technologies.展开更多
文摘Objective: To investigate the severity of xerostomia and its impact on the quality of life in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma after conventional radiation therapy. Methods: One hundred and thirty-six patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma, treated by conventional radiation therapy in Cancer Center, Sun Yat-sen University, were surveyed by interview at the outpatient department. A questionnaire and a visual analog scale (VAS) were used to analyze xerostomia and xerostomia-related problems. Results: Of 136 patints, 73.5% experienced a moderate to severe degree of xerostomia; 82.4% had to sip water to facilitate speech; 92.6% had to sip water to facilitate chewing and swallowing; 91.2% changed their feeding pattern (eating only mashed food); 61.3% had to wake up to drink water because of dry mouth; 75.0% had dental lesions to varying degrees. Conclusion: 73.5% of the patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma after conventional radiation therapy experienced a moderate to severe degree of xerostomia. Xerostomia has a significant impact on the patient's speech, deglutition, and sleep, and can increase the morbidity of the dental diseases.
文摘Xerostomia is the main complication inflicting head and neck cancer patients treated with radiotherapy.Conventional treatment is not very effective in alleviating this morbidity.Biomedical strategies such as gene transfer and tissue engineering have made substantial progress that will potentially lead to successful new treatment options for this condition.This report reviews the process of radiation damage to the salivary glands and the advances in functional salivary gland enhancement with these two brand-new technologies.
