• Jeffrey M Vainshtein, Stuart Samuels, Yebin Tao, Teresa Lyden, Marc Haxer, Matthew Spector, Matthew Schipper, and Avraham Eisbruch.
• Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
• Head Neck. 2016 Apr 1; 38 Suppl 1: E1605-12.

BackgroundThe purpose of this study was to assess how xerostomia affects dysphagia.MethodsProspective longitudinal studies of 93 patients with oropharyngeal cancer treated with definitive chemotherapy-intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT). Observer-rated dysphagia (ORD), patient-reported dysphagia (PRD), and patient-reported xerostomia (PRX) assessment of the swallowing mechanics by videofluoroscopy (videofluoroscopy score), and salivary flow rates, were prospectively assessed from pretherapy through 2 years.ResultsORD grades ≥2 were rare and therefore not modeled. Of patients with no/mild videofluoroscopy abnormalities, a substantial proportion had PRD that peaked 3 months posttherapy and subsequently improved. Through 2 years, highly significant correlations were observed between PRX and PRD scores for all patients, including those with no/mild videofluoroscopy abnormalities. Both PRX and videofluoroscopy scores were highly significantly associated with PRD. On multivariate analysis, PRX score was a stronger predictor of PRD than the videofluoroscopy score.ConclusionXerostomia contributes significantly to PRD. Efforts to further decrease xerostomia, in addition to sparing parotid glands, may translate into improvements in PRD. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 38: E1605-E1612, 2016.© 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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