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Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

The present study was conducted to determine the preventive efficacy of vitamin C/E complex supplementation for radiotherapy (RT)-induced xerostomia in patients with head and neck cancer.

STUDY DESIGN:

Prospective, double-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled study.

SETTING:

A single tertiary referral institution.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS:

The trial group (n = 25) received antioxidant supplements (100 IU of vitamin E + 500 mg of vitamin C) twice per day during RT, while the control group (n = 20) received an identical placebo. Pre-RT and 1 and 6 months post-RT, patient-reported xerostomia questionnaires, observer-rated xerostomia score, and salivary scintigraphy were serially obtained to compare xerostomia severity between the 2 groups.

RESULTS:

The trial group showed greater improvements in xerostomia questionnaire and score at 6 months post-RT when compared with those at 1 month post-RT (P = .007 and .008, respectively). In contrast, the control group showed no changes between 1 and 6 months post-RT. By salivary scintigraphy, there was no difference in maximal accumulation or ejection fraction between the 2 groups. However, the trial group maintained significantly better oral indices at the prestimulatory (P = .01) and poststimulatory (P = .009) stages at 1 month post-RT, compared with the control group. At the final follow-up, there was no difference in overall survival and disease-free survival between the 2 groups.

CONCLUSIONS:

Our data suggest that short-term supplementation with an antioxidant vitamin E/C complex exerts a protective effect against RT-induced xerostomia.

Author information

Chung MK1, Kim DH2, Ahn YC3, Choi JY4, Kim EH1, Son YI5.​

1Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Samsung Comprehensive Cancer Center, Seoul, Korea.

2Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Busan Paik Hospital, Inje University College of Medicine, Busan, Korea.

3Department of Radiation Oncology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Samsung Comprehensive Cancer Center, Seoul, Korea.

4Department of Nuclear Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Samsung Comprehensive Cancer Center, Seoul, Korea.

5Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Samsung Comprehensive Cancer Center, Seoul, Korea yison@skku.edu.