Xerostomia Following Radiotherapy

Patients who underwent head and neck radiotherapy and developed xerostomia and/or hyposalivation will be selected. The patients will be randomly assigned into two groups, defined as control and treatment. All patients will complete the xerostomia-related quality of life questionnaires, XeQoLS (Xerostomia Quality of Life Scale) and OHIP (Oral Health Impact Profile). This qualitative assessment will be repeated 1 week after the 6th application and 1 week after the 12th application (T0, T6, and T12). The quantitative assessment will be carried out through the collection of unstimulated and stimulated saliva at the same time points (T0, T6, and T12). Patients will undergo 12 sessions of ozone therapy, once a week, in gaseous form, at a concentration of 10 µg/mL (micrograms per milliliter), applied directly into the major salivary glands. The gas will be administered as follows: * Parotid glands: two distinct points per gland, 1 mL at each point. * Submandibular glands: one point per gland, 1 mL per point at 10 µg/mL. * Sublingual glands: one point per gland, 1 mL per point at 10 µg/mL. The ozone generator equipment will be supplied with medical oxygen (99.5% purity), Dental model, Philozon company. Disposable syringes will be Terumo, 10 mL, and the needle will be BD, 30/13 mm.

The purpose of the study is to evaluate to effect of LASER acupoints stimulations on xerostomia patients during chemoradiation therapy after head and neck cancer.

Head and neck cancer care, including tumors of the mouth, nose, throat and voice box, often requires radiation for cure to be achieved. Despite advances in radiation, 40% to 60% of patients experience a significant dry mouth (xerostomia) following radiotherapy. Several factors are associated with severe xerostomia including older age, advanced stage disease and tumor location. Currently, no pragmatic treatment strategy exists to reduce the risk of radiation-related xerostomia in patients with head and neck cancer. The investigators propose the use of a botulinum neurotoxin injected into the at-risk salivary glands before radiation as a strategy to preserve salivary gland function during radiation treatments and reduce xerostomia.