Radiosensitivity of the Human Parotid Gland

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Abstract
Resting parotid [salivary gland] flow rate response to radiotherapy [for head and neck carcinoma] was evaluated in 7 patients. The mean for pretreatment flow was 0.045 ml/min (SD = 0.023). Twenty-four h after the 1st treatment (225 rads) this mean decreased to 0.023 ml/min (SD = 0.022), and after the 2nd treatment the mean was only 0.001 ml/min (SD = 0.002). Of the 7 patients, 6 exhibited no flow at all after 450 rads administered over 2 days, and the 7th flowed at a rate of only 0.005 ml/min. There was no detectable resting parotid flow from these patients after this time. The human parotid gland is apparently highly sensitive to irradiation and virtually all of the oral fluid generated by the irradiated patient, even very early in the course of treatment, originates in glands other than the parotid.

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