ACUPUNCTURE TREATMENT OF PATIENTS WITH RADIATION-INDUCED XEROSTOMIA

Xerostomia is a common and usually irreversible side effect in patient s receiving radiation therapy (>50 Gy) for head and neck cancer. Of 38 patients with radiation-induced xerostomia, 20 in the experimental gr oup were treated with classical acupuncture and 18 patients in the con trol group received superficial acupuncture as placebo. Within both gr oups the patients showed significantly increased salivary flow rates a fter the acupuncture treatment. In the experimental group 68% and in t he control group 50% of the patients had increased salivary how rates at the end of the observation period. Among those patients who had had all their salivary glands irradiated, 50% in both groups showed incre ased salivary flow rates (>20%) by the end of the observation period o f 1 year. The study indicates that among the patients who had increase d salivary flow rates already after the first 12 acupuncture sessions, the majority had high probability of continual improvement after the completion of acupuncture treatment. The improved salivary flow rates usually persisted during the observation year. The changes observed in the control group were somewhat smaller and appeared after a longer l atency phase. Significant differences for salivary flow rates could be observed only within each group, and there were no statistically sign ificant differences between the groups. There were no differences in t he improvement of salivary flow rates between those patients who were irradiated within a year before the acupuncture treatment and those wh o had received radiation therapy several years earlier. The results in dicate that acupuncture might be a useful method for the treatment of radiation-induced xerostomia, and that superficial acupuncture should preferably not be used as placebo acupuncture. Copyright (C) 1996 Else vier Science Ltd