Effects of gustatory stimulants of salivary secretion on the pH and stimulation of saliva of patients with head and neck cancer after radiotherapy

ISRCTN ISRCTN15985810
DOI https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN15985810
Secondary identifying numbers N/A
Submission date
06/06/2011
Registration date
29/03/2012
Last edited
19/01/2016
Recruitment status
No longer recruiting
Overall study status
Completed
Condition category
Oral Health
Prospectively registered
Protocol
Statistical analysis plan
Results
Individual participant data
Record updated in last year

Plain English summary of protocol

Background and study aims
Saliva (spit) washes your teeth and protects them from decay. Radiotherapy treatment for head and neck cancer often reduces the amount of saliva you can make. Gustatory stimulants of salivary secretion (GSSS) are lozenges that are sold over the counter in many European countries and used to stimulate secretion of saliva. However, their acidic nature may increase the risk of dental erosion. The aim of this study is to find out whether the use of the new Dentaid GSSS lozenge increases salivary secretion and is safer regarding dental erosion.

Who can participate?
Patients aged 18 and over with head and neck cancer treated with radiotherapy.

What does the study involve?
Participants are randomly allocated to either the intervention or the control group. Participants in the intervention group are treated with Dentaid lozenges. Participants in the control group are treated with a traditional citric-based galenic formulation. Salivary secretion rate and pH changes are recorded at defined time intervals (minute 0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 10, 15 and 20) to determine the effectiveness of saliva stimulation and the dental erosion potential of these lozenges.

What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
There are no risks to the participants in this study

Where is the study run from?
Portuguese Institute of Oncology (Portugal)

When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
July 2011 to July 2012

Who is funding the study?
Dentaid (Spain)

Who is the main contact?
Prof. António Mata
duartemd@yahoo.co.uk

Contact information

Prof António Mata
Scientific

Grupo de Investigação em Biologia e Bioquímica Oral
Faculdade de Medicina Dentária da Universidade de Lisboa
Cidade Universitária
Lisbon
1649-003
Portugal

Email duartemd@yahoo.co.uk

Study information

Study designTwo-arm cross-over single-centre blind randomised controlled trial
Primary study designInterventional
Secondary study designRandomised controlled trial
Study setting(s)Hospital
Study typeTreatment
Participant information sheet Not available in web format, please use the contact details below to request a patient information sheet
Scientific titleEffects of gustatory stimulants of salivary secretion on the pH and stimulation of saliva of patients with head and neck cancer after radiotherapy: a two-arm cross-over single-centre randomised controlled trial
Study objectivesGustatory stimulants of salivary secretion (GSSS) are sold over the counter in wide number of European countries and used to stimulate salivary secretion. The acidic nature of these lozenges suggests that they may increase the risk for dental erosion. The rationale for this study being to find out if the use of the Dentaid GSSS increases slivary secretion and is safer regarding dental erosion.

The study hypotheses are:
1. There is a significant difference in the salivary pH variation elicited by the new GSSS in patients with Sjögren’s Sndrome
2. There is a significant difference in the stimulation of whole saliva secretion capacity elicited by the new GSSS with patients with Sjögren’s syndrome
3. There is a significant difference in unstimulated and stimulated whole saliva secretion after radiation in patients with head and neck cancer
Ethics approval(s)Dentistry College of the University of Lisbon, May 2011, ref: 2/2011
Health condition(s) or problem(s) studiedDental erosion in patients with head and neck cancer after radiotherapy
InterventionSalivary buffering capacity will be assessed in all participants at baseline.

The participants will randomly be allocated to the control and intervention arms in equal numbers (40 in each arm):
Intervention arm: new gustatory stimulant of salivary secretion - one lozenge of Dentaid® (Dentaid, Spain)
Control arm: traditional citric based galenic formulation

Salivary secretion rate and pH changes will be recorded at defined time intervals (minute 0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 10, 15 and 20) to determine the efficacy of saliva stimulation and dental erosion potential of these lozenges
Intervention typeOther
Primary outcome measure1. Time of GSSS induced pH drop below 5.5 expressed in minutes as the mean ± 95% confidence interval
2. In order to better quantify risk differences of GSSS induced pH drop below 5.5 a contingency table compiling the counts of subjects with pH drops below 5.5 for over one minute will be obtained
3. Additional analyses will be done to calculate association measures like the absolute risk reduction (ARR) and number needed to treat (NNT)
Secondary outcome measures1. GSSS induced salivary pH variations expressed as the mean ± 95% confidence interval of the three pH measures obtained from salivary samples at defined time points
2. GSSS stimulated salivary flow expressed in ml/min as the mean ± 95% confidence interval of stimulated salivary flow obtained at different time points
3. Overall stimulated salivary flow will also be calculated and expressed in ml/min as the mean ± 95% confidence interval of the total volume of stimulated saliva divided by the total time of each experiment which will be 20 minutes
4. Salivary stimulation output defined as the difference between GSSS and basal salivary flow, expressed as ml/min
Overall study start date01/07/2011
Completion date30/07/2012

Eligibility

Participant type(s)Patient
Age groupAdult
Lower age limit18 Years
SexBoth
Target number of participants80
Key inclusion criteria1. Participants (both males and females) above 18 years
2. Patients after head and neck radiotherapy
3. An unstimulated whole saliva flow less than 0.1 mL/min
4. A stimulated whole saliva flow greater than 0.2 mL/min
Key exclusion criteria1. Pregnant
2. Does not meet inclusion criteria
Date of first enrolment01/07/2011
Date of final enrolment30/07/2012

Locations

Countries of recruitment

  • Portugal

Study participating centre

Universidade de Lisboa
Lisbon
1649-003
Portugal

Sponsor information

Dentaid (Spain)
Industry

Oficinas centrales
Ronda Can Fatjó, 10
Parc Tecnologic Del Valles
Cerdanyola
Barcelona
08290
Spain

Email dentaid@dentaid.com
Website http://www.dentaid.es/
ROR logo "ROR" https://ror.org/02n9shp96

Funders

Funder type

Industry

Dentaid (Spain)

No information available

Results and Publications

Intention to publish date
Individual participant data (IPD) Intention to shareNo
IPD sharing plan summaryNot provided at time of registration
Publication and dissemination planNot provided at time of registration
IPD sharing plan

Editorial Notes

19/01/2016: Plain English summary added.