Long-term salivary function after conditioning with busulfan, fractionated or single-dose TBI.

OBJECTIVES

Does conditioning with fractionated total body irradiation (fTBI) or busulfan (Bu) causes less salivary dysfunction compared with single dose (sTBI) after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT).

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A total of 74 adolescents below 13 years of age received allogeneic HSCT and conditioning with either: sTBI, fTBI or Bu. The unstimulated (USSR) and stimulated (SSSR) whole salivary secretion rates were measured at 15 years of age.

RESULTS

Irrespective of conditioning type, there were no significant differences in USSR or SSSR between groups. Girls had a significantly lower SSSR, 0.7 ± 0.3 ml per min compared with 1.1 ± 0.4 ml per min in boys (P < 0.001). A significant correlation between age at HSCT and SSSR at 15 years of age (P = 0.02) in children conditioned with sTBI was found as well as an inverse correlation between the plasma area under curve (AUC) of Bu and SSSR. In the multivariate model, only female sex was significantly correlated with low SSSR at 15 years of age (OR 3.93, 95% CI 1.21-12.79; P = 0.021).

CONCLUSION

No differences in long-term whole salivary function after HSCT in adolescents receiving conditioning with sTBI, fTBI or Bu were found. Total systemic exposure to Bu was negatively correlated with stimulated salivary secretion.