Table 3.
Prevalence of xerostomia, unstimulated and stimulated salivary flow rate, stratified according to the type of treatment and gender in childhood cancer survivors.
| Variable | Total | Group 1: No H&N RT | Group 2: H&N RT | Subgroup 2A: RT to Salivary Glands e | p ¥ | Male | Female | p µ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Xerostomia inventory (XI) (n) | n = 233 | n = 156 | n = 77 | n = 65 | n = 125 | n = 108 | ||
| Median XI-score (range) a | 17.00 (11.00–41.00) | 17.00 (11.00–39.00) | 16.00 (11.00–41.00) | 17.00 (11.00–36.00) | 0.980 ** | 16.00 (11.00–39.00) | 17.00 (11.00–41.00) | 0.174 ** |
| Mean XI-score (sd) a | 17.77 (6.01) | 17.80 (5.79) | 17.71 (6.48) | 17.75 (5.71) | 17.20 (5.56) | 18.44 (6.46) | ||
| Number with xerostomia (%) b | 22 (9.4) | 13 (8.3) | 9 (11.7) | 7 (10.8) | 0.444 * | 10 (8.0) | 12 (11.1) | 0.502 * |
| UWS (n) | n = 269 | n = 184 | n = 85 | n = 73 | n = 144 | n = 125 | ||
| Median (range) c | 0.29 (0.00–1.42) | 0.31 (0.03–1.36) | 0.21 (0.00–1.42) | 0.21 (0.00–1.42) | 0.003 ** | 0.31 (0.00–1.42) | 0.25 (0.01–1.36) | 0.007 ** |
| Mean (sd) c | 0.35 (0.25) | 0.37 (0.25) | 0.30 (0.27) | 0.31 (0.28) | 0.39 (0.27) | 0.30 (0.22) | ||
| Hyposalivation < 0.2 mL/min d | 86 (32.0) | 47 (25.5) | 39 (45.9) | 34 (46.6) | 0.002 * | 37 (25.7) | 49 (39.2) | 0.019 * |
| Severe hyposalivation < 0.1 mL/min d | 24 (8.9) | 11 (6.0) | 13 (15.3) | 10 (13.7) | 0.074 * | 8 (5.6) | 16 (12.8) | 0.052 * |
| SWS (n) | n = 271 | n = 186 | n = 85 | n = 73 | n = 146 | n = 125 | ||
| Median (range) c | 0.98 (0.01–4.03) | 1.11 (0.01–3.35) | 0.78 (0.01–4.03) | 0.78 (0.01–4.03) | 0.003 ** | 1.14 (0.01–4.03) | 0.83 (0.01–3.35) | 0.001 ** |
| Mean (sd) c | 1.14 (0.71) | 1.20 (0.69) | 0.99 (0.73) | 0.98 (0.73) | 1.27 (0.76) | 0.98 (0.61) | ||
| Hyposalivation < 0.7 mL/min d | 86 (31.7) | 48 (25.8) | 38 (44.7) | 33 (45.2) | 0.004 * | 37 (25.3) | 49 (39.2) | 0.018 * |
| Severe hyposalivation < 0.5 mL/min d | 38 (14.0) | 21 (11.3) | 17 (20.0) | 13 (17.8) | 0.219 * | 13 (8.9) | 25 (20.0) | 0.013 * |
UWS; unstimulated whole salivary flow rate, SWS; stimulated whole salivary flow rate. Numbers of XI-scores, UWS values, and SWS values were different as not all parameters were measured in each individual. ¥ p value of the analysis between Group 1 (participant with unknown information about radiotherapy was excluded from analysis) and the subgroup: RT to salivary glands. µ p value of the analysis between males and females. a XI scores are presented [23]. b Values are presented as n (%) of participants that had an XI score above 25. c Values are presented as mL/min d Values are presented as n (%) of participants who had hyposalivation. e This subgroup is part of Group 2. Survivors were excluded from this subgroup when information on radiotherapy to salivary glands was unclear (n = 6) or salivary glands did not receive irradiation (n = 6). * Fisher’s exact test. ** Mann–Whitney U test.