Efficacy of Traditional Persian Medicine Preparation Versus Artificial Saliva for Radiation Induced Xerostomia

Head and neck cancers(HNC) is one of the most common cancers worldwide. Xerostomia is one of the most common side effect of radiation therapy among patients with HNC. Mouth dryness significantly impairs patients' quality of life (QOL).

HNC.Regarding to traditional use of A. digitata and M. sylvestris in addition to known their beneficial effects in recent studies, we decided to design a randomized, controlled clinical trial to try to evaluate efficacy of the these herbs in QOL of HNC patients with radiation induced xerostomia

Inclusion Criteria:

• patients with head and neck cancer who had grade 1 and 2 xerostomia (based on the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) Version 4.0) and finished radiotherapy at least two months before the study(22).

Exclusion Criteria:

• history of connective tissue disorder (e.g., Sjogren) other medical causes of xerostomia (such as diabetes, bowel and renal diseases), using antidepressants drugs, recurrence of cancer, end stage cancer, pregnancy, lactation history of hypersensitivity or allergy to A. digitata and M. sylvestris