Lalla Rajesh V, Helgeson Erika S, Virk Komal, Lu Han, Treister Nathaniel S, Sollecito Thomas P, Schmidt Brian L, Patton Lauren L, Lin Alexander, Brennan Michael T
Section of Oral Medicine, University of Connecticut School of Dental Medicine, Farmington, Connecticut, USA.
Division of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
Oral Dis. 2025 Mar;31(3):857-864. doi: 10.1111/odi.15068. Epub 2024 Jul 15.
To compare salivary flow rates between females and males, before and after radiation therapy (RT) for head and neck cancer (HNC).
Prospective observational multicenter cohort study (OraRad). Stimulated whole salivary flow was measured before RT and at 6 and 18 months after RT.
Mean (95% confidence interval) salivary flow in g/min before RT was 0.81 (0.71, 0.90) in females (n = 107) and 1.20 (1.15, 1.25) in males (n = 391) (p < 0.001); at 6 months was 0.34 (0.24, 0.44) in females and 0.50 (0.44, 0.55) in males (p = 0.01); at 18 months was 0.49 (0.38, 0.59) in females and 0.70 (0.64, 0.75) in males (p < 0.001). Median nadir salivary flow after RT was 0.22 in females and 0.35 in males (p < 0.001). A lower nadir salivary flow in females, but not males, was associated with an increased risk for tooth failure (p = 0.02).
Females with HNC have lower stimulated whole salivary flow than males, before and after RT. Low salivary flow after RT may be a risk factor for tooth failure among females. The lower pre-RT salivary flow rates in females, combined with prior literature in other populations, indicates that, in general, females have lower stimulated salivary flow than males.
比较头颈癌（HNC）患者放疗（RT）前后男性与女性的唾液流速。
前瞻性观察性多中心队列研究（OraRad）。在放疗前以及放疗后6个月和18个月测量刺激后的全唾液流速。
放疗前女性（n = 107）的平均（95%置信区间）唾液流速为0.81（0.71，0.90）g/min，男性（n = 391）为1.20（1.15，1.25）g/min（p < 0.001）；6个月时女性为0.34（0.24，0.44）g/min，男性为0.50（0.44，0.55）g/min（p = 0.01）；18个月时女性为0.49（0.38，0.59）g/min，男性为0.70（0.64，0.75）g/min（p < 0.001）。放疗后唾液流速最低点的中位数女性为0.22，男性为0.35（p < 0.001）。女性而非男性放疗后唾液流速最低点较低与牙齿缺失风险增加相关（p = 0.02）。
患有头颈癌的女性在放疗前后的刺激全唾液流速均低于男性。放疗后唾液流速低可能是女性牙齿缺失的一个风险因素。女性放疗前较低的唾液流速，结合其他人群的既往文献，表明一般而言，女性的刺激唾液流速低于男性。
