title: Hyperbaric oxygen therapy for the treatment of radiation-induced xerostomia: a systematic review.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Radiation-induced xerostomia is one of the most common morbidities of radiation therapy in patients with head and neck cancer. However, in spite of its high rate of occurrence, there are few effective therapies available for its management. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of hyperbaric oxygen on the treatment of radiation-induced xerostomia and xerostomia-related quality of life.
  
  
  METHODS
  PubMed, Google Scholar, and the Cochrane Library were searched for retrospective or prospective trials assessing subjective xerostomia, objective xerostomia, or xerostomia-related quality of life. To be included, patients had to have received radiation therapy for head and neck cancer, but not hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The systematic review initially identified 293 potential articles. Seven studies, comprising 246 patients, qualified for inclusion. Of the included studies, 6 of 7 were prospective in nature, and 1 was a retrospective study; and 2 of the 7 were controlled studies.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  HBOT may have utility for treating radiation-induced xerostomia refractory to other therapies. Additionally, HBOT may induce long-term improvement in subjective assessments of xerostomia, whereas other therapies currently available only provide short-term relief. The strength of these conclusions is limited by the lack of randomized controlled clinical trials.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado, USA. Electronic address: nyssaffox@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Nyssa F
authors.initials: NF
authors.lastname: Fox
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, and Hollings Cancer Center, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, USA.
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, and Hollings Cancer Center, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, USA.
authors.forename: Amit J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Sood
authors.affiliation: Mountain Area Health Education Center Dental Health Center, Asheville, North Carolina, USA.
authors.forename: Tiffany L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Lovelace
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, and Hollings Cancer Center, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, USA.
authors.forename: Shaun A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, USA.
authors.forename: Anand
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, and Hollings Cancer Center, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, USA.
authors.forename: Terry A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Day
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D006931:Hyperbaric Oxygenation; D009959:Oropharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D011832:Radiation Injuries / Q000628:therapy*; D014987:Xerostomia / Q000209:etiology* / Q000628:therapy*