Xerostomia (grade >= 2, 0-4 scale) · Patients receiving radiotherapy on its own or in addition to chemotherapy to the head and neck region
Amifostine may leads to lower xerostomia (grade >= 2, 0-4 scale) compared with no treatment/placebo (low certainty).
3 findings from 1 review
RR 0.35 [0.19, 0.67]
3 studies · 119 participants
Low
RR 0.70 [0.40, 1.23]
7 studies · 682 participants
Low
RR 0.66 [0.48, 0.92]
5 studies · 687 participants
Low
Allergic adverse events · Patients receiving radiotherapy on its own or in addition to chemotherapy to the head and neck region
Amifostine may leads to higher allergic response (adverse effect) compared with no treatment/placebo (low certainty).
1 finding from 1 review
Adverse events · Adults with cancer receiving treatment
1 finding from 1 review
Taste disturbance (severe, > 2 on 0-3 scale) · Patients receiving radiotherapy on its own or in addition to chemotherapy to the head and neck region
Polaprezinc led to lower taste disturbance (severe, > 2 on 0-3 scale) compared with azulene oral rinse; GRADE not reported.
1 finding from 1 review
Adverse effects · Patients receiving radiotherapy on its own or in addition to chemotherapy to the head and neck region
1 finding from 1 review
No evidence of a difference in reported adverse events across the three trials (nausea, fever, constipation, diarrhoea, headache, fatigue and others)
3 studies
GRADE not reported
Normalcy of diet (percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy) · Adults receiving radiotherapy to the head and neck
Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), mouthwash showed no clear difference in normalcy of diet (percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy) compared with sucralfate mouthwash; GRADE not reported.
1 finding from 1 review
Xerostomia (VAS) · Patients receiving radiotherapy on its own or in addition to chemotherapy to the head and neck region
1 finding from 1 review
Oral mucositis (any severity) · Adults with cancer receiving treatment
Granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) led to lower oral mucositis (any severity) compared with placebo or no treatment; GRADE not reported.
2 findings from 1 review
Dry mouth (xerostomia) · Patients receiving radiotherapy on its own or in addition to chemotherapy to the head and neck region
Antimicrobial lozenge showed no clear difference in xerostomia compared with placebo; GRADE not reported.
1 finding from 1 review
Quality of life · Patients receiving radiotherapy on its own or in addition to chemotherapy to the head and neck region
The review found no eligible studies for this question.
1 finding from 1 review
Oral mucositis (moderate to severe) · Adults with cancer receiving treatment
Keratinocyte growth factor (KGF; palifermin or repifermin),… may leads to lower oral mucositis (moderate to severe) compared with placebo (low certainty).
3 findings from 1 review
RR 0.89 [0.80, 0.99]
6 studies · 852 participants
Low
RR 0.91 [0.83, 1.00]
3 studies · 471 participants
Moderate
RR 0.56 [0.45, 0.70]
4 studies · 344 participants
Moderate
Xerostomia (severe) · Patients receiving radiotherapy on its own or in addition to chemotherapy to the head and neck region
Polaprezinc led to lower xerostomia (severe) compared with azulene oral rinse; GRADE not reported.
1 finding from 1 review
Dry mouth (xerostomia) · Patients receiving radiotherapy on its own or in addition to chemotherapy to the head and neck region
Chinese medicine led to lower xerostomia (dichotomous, Shenqi Fanghou recipe) compared with no treatment/placebo; GRADE not reported.
1 finding from 1 review
Oral pain · Adults with cancer receiving treatment
Keratinocyte growth factor (KGF; palifermin or repifermin),… showed no clear difference in oral pain (mean worst pain, 0 to 10 scale) compared with placebo; GRADE not reported.
2 findings from 1 review
Adverse effects · Patients receiving radiotherapy on its own or in addition to chemotherapy to the head and neck region
1 finding from 1 review
Quality of life · Patients receiving radiotherapy on its own or in addition to chemotherapy to the head and neck region
The review found no eligible studies for this question.
1 finding from 1 review
Vomiting · Patients receiving radiotherapy on its own or in addition to chemotherapy to the head and neck region
Amifostine may leads to higher vomiting (adverse effect) compared with no treatment/placebo (low certainty).
1 finding from 1 review
Taste acuity improvement - objective outcome (continuous) - taste detection (cross-over trial) · Patients with taste disturbances (dysgeusia/hypogeusia; idiopathic, zinc-deficient, or secondary to chronic renal failure)
It is very uncertain whether zinc supplements (zinc sulphate, zinc gluconate, zinc picolinate,… changes taste acuity improvement - objective outcome (continuous) - taste… compared with placebo (very low certainty).
1 finding from 1 review
Oral mucositis (severe) · Adults receiving bone marrow/stem cell transplantation after conditioning therapy for haematological cancers
Erythropoietin mouthwash showed no clear difference in oral mucositis (severe) compared with placebo; GRADE not reported.
1 finding from 1 review
Taste discrimination improvement · Patients with idiopathic dysgeusia and hypogeusia
It is very uncertain whether acupuncture changes taste discrimination improvement compared with sham control (deactivated laser sham acupuncture) (very low certainty).
2 findings from 1 review