J Korean Assoc Maxillofac Plast Reconstr Surg.  1999 Aug;21(3):249-256.

The change of salivary flow rate, and concentration of total protein and iga after radiation therapy of oral cancer

• Lee JH

Abstract

This study was performed to investigate the changes in flow and composition of saliva in oral cancer patients after radiation therapy. Stimulated whole saliva was collected from 7 patients who were scheduled for over 6,000cGy irradiation (180 - 225cGy fraction Co60 therapy, 5 times a week). The flow rate of saliva, and concentration of total protein and IgA were measured before irradiation and 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 days and 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 weeks and 3, 6, 12 months after. The followings are results we obtained: 1. The salivary flow rate before irradiation was 0.8671+/-0.4057ml/min. Significant decrease started 3 days after irradiation and reached a minimum at 4 weeks (0.2621+/-0.2858ml/min). Afterwards, flow rate started to increase and was on the way to recover at 1 year. 2. The concentration of total protein and IgA before irradiation were 137.2000+/-16.9912mg% and 3.4200 +/-1.4114mg%, respectively. After irradiation, these figures increased significantly and reached a maximum of 366.4000+/-174.0583mg% and 43.4800+/-29.1207mg/ml, respectively at 6 weeks. Recovery towards normal values started following the end of irradiation and figures at 12 months had lowered to 165.400+/-21.1495mg% and 4.6200+/-2.1580mg/ml each. 3. The ratio of IgA to the amount of total protein was 2.5% before irradiation. This began to increase from 1 week following irradiation as the total dose of radiation received was increased (11.9% at 6 weeks). After 1 year from the start of radiation therapy, the ratio was reduced to such level that was before irradiation.

MeSH Terms

Humans
Immunoglobulin A*
Mouth Neoplasms*
Reference Values
Saliva
Immunoglobulin A