VARIATION OF SALIVARY FLOW RATE IN DIFFERENT ANTINEOPLASTIC TREATMENTS.

To investigate salivary flow changes during the treatment of patients submitted to head and neck radiotherapy (HNR) and/or exclusive chemotherapy. Prospective cross-sectional study with 61 patients divided into 2 groups: GT1 (n = 20)—individuals with malignant neoplasms in any region of the body, except head and neck, submitted to exclusive chemotherapy; GT2 (n = 41)—individuals in HNR associated or not with chemotherapy. Salivary flow examination was performed by an interval of 7 days among them: 3 samples for GT1 (baseline, 7 and 14 days after first infusion) and 5 for GT2 (baseline, 6th, 12th, 18th, and 24th HNR sessions). The GT2 group was subdivided based on the irradiation fields in 3 subgroups: face, neck, and face/neck. There was an increase in the salivary flow of the GT1 group and a negative Δ for the GT2 group, which represented a statistical difference for the salivary flow variations between the treatment groups (P <.001). However, it was not possible to verify differences between the evaluated irradiated fields. HNR was able to reduce salivary flow rate significantly, whereas chemotherapy did not seem to influence salivary production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]