Journal of Dental Research, Vol 67, 518-521, Copyright © 1988 by International & American Associations for Dental Research Online Journals
Preliminary observations on the effect of mantle field radiotherapy on salivary flow rates in patients with Hodgkin's disease
J. A. Bucher, T. J. Fleming, L. M. Fuller and H. J. Keene
Veterans Administration Medical Center, Dental Service, Dayton, Ohio 45428, USA.
Changes in stimulated and non-stimulated whole saliva flow rates were
measured in 11 Hodgkin's disease patients who received therapeutic doses of
radiation to a mantle field at the M. D. Anderson Hospital in Houston,
Texas. Salivary flow rates were examined before, during, and after
radiotherapy. Mean flow rate reductions of 54% for non-stimulated saliva
and 55.7% for paraffin-stimulated saliva were observed post-radiotherapy.
Flow rates had not returned to pre-irradiation levels in any of the
patients who were observed for two to three months after completion of
therapy. Results obtained from this preliminary study indicate that most
patients who receive therapeutic doses of radiation to a mantle field
experience a significant reduction in salivary output which is manifest
during the period of treatment and persists for a period of at least two to
three months post-radiotherapy.
