Table 1.

Cholinergic agonists for radiotherapy-induced xerostomia in patients with head and neck cancer: randomized-controlled studies

Study	No. of patients			Doses & therapy duration	Results (drug vs. placebo)
	Total	Drug	Placebo
Johnson et al., 1993 (31)	207	142	65	Pilocarpine, 5 mg t.i.d. for 12 weeks (73 patients)  or 10 mg t.i.d. for 12 weeks (69 patients)	improvement in overall condition of xerostomia: 53.5% vs. 42.9% vs. 25%, p=0.010 improvement in saliva production at weeks 4 and 8; did not correlate with symptomatic relief withdrawal from the study (adverse experience): 5.5% vs. 29% vs. 3.1% no serious drug-related adverse events
LeVeque et al., 1993 (32)	162	75	87	Pilocarpine, Weeks 1–4: 2.5 mg t.i.d. Weeks 5–8: 5 mg t.i.d. Weeks 9–12: 10 mg t.i.d.	improvement in overall condition of xerostomia: 48.7% vs. 28.1%, p=0.015 improvement in whole saliva and unstimulated parotid saliva flow withdrawal from the study (adverse experience, lack of efficacy): 14.67% vs. 13.75% no serious drug-related adverse events best results: doses >2.5 mg t.i.d., continuous treatment for 8–12 weeks
Chambers et al., 2007 (39)					global xerostomia improvement: 47.4% vs. 33.3%, p=0.0162 improvement in unstimulated saliva flow: p<0.0001 vs. p=0.942
Study 003	284	139	145	Cevimeline, 30 mg t.i.t. for 12 weeks	withdrawal from the study (adverse experience): 14.6% vs. 3.5% treatment-related adverse effects: 41.6% vs. 17.4% (mild to moderate)
Study 004	286	139	147	If no improvement in dry mouth: escalation of dose to 45 mg t.i.d. at week 6	global xerostomia improvement: 48.9% vs. 47.6%, p=0.9565 improvement in unstimulated saliva flow: p=0.0002 vs. p=0.0928 withdrawal from the study (adverse experience): 13.9% vs. 5.5% treatment-related adverse effects: 38% vs. 18.6% (mild to moderate)