What Researchers Did
Researchers reviewed the current evidence on dry mouth (xerostomia) caused by cancer treatment, summarizing available treatments including HBOT, medications, and other interventions.
What They Found
No single treatment has been approved or proven definitively effective for cancer treatment-related xerostomia. Multiple interventions were reviewed, including HBOT, salivary substitutes, muscarinic agonists, acupuncture, and stem cell therapy, but the evidence for all of them remains limited and controversial in terms of safety, effectiveness, and optimal dosing.
What This Means for Canadian Patients
Head and neck cancer patients in Canada who develop chronic dry mouth after radiation have few proven options. HBOT is one of several experimental approaches being explored, but patients and clinicians should understand there is no gold-standard treatment yet, and choices should be made case by case.
Canadian Relevance
HBOT for radiation-related complications including dry mouth from head and neck cancer treatment may fall under OHIP coverage as delayed radiation injury, though xerostomia specifically is less established than osteoradionecrosis.
Study Limitations
This is a narrative review, not a systematic review or meta-analysis, so the conclusions are based on qualitative assessment rather than pooled statistical data.