# Pilocarpine

Source: https://onco.cc/drugs/pilocarpine/  
OnCo record `pilocarpine` (Treatment). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Pilocarpine tablets are approved to treat the dry mouth that follows head and neck radiotherapy; they help when some gland tissue is left, at the cost of sweating and other cholinergic side effects.

## Summary

Pilocarpine, a plant alkaloid long used as eye drops for glaucoma, was approved by the FDA in 1994 (Salagen) for radiation-induced xerostomia in head and neck cancer, and later for Sjögren's syndrome. It works only where functioning salivary tissue remains, so it is most useful after modern parotid-sparing radiotherapy; sweating, flushing and urinary frequency limit the dose. Trials of pilocarpine during radiotherapy to protect the glands have been inconsistent.

## Fields

- Kind: Treatment
- Status: approved
- Last checked: 2026-09-16
- Also known as: Salagen
- Tags: radiation-wave3
- Modality: Cholinergic agonist (small molecule) for radiation-induced dry mouth
- Mechanism: Stimulates muscarinic receptors on whatever salivary gland tissue survives radiotherapy, increasing saliva flow.
- Approvals: US 1994: Dry mouth caused by radiotherapy for head and neck cancer

## Sources

- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilocarpine

## Connected records

- cancers: [Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/head-and-neck/), [Nasopharyngeal carcinoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/nasopharyngeal/)
- technologies: [Dry mouth, teeth and taste after head and neck radiotherapy](https://onco.cc/technologies/dry-mouth-teeth-after-head-neck-radiotherapy/), [Radioprotectors and normal-tissue sparing drugs](https://onco.cc/technologies/radioprotectors/)
- companies: [Eisai](https://onco.cc/companies/eisai/)
- trials: [Pilocarpine in Preventing Mucositis and Dry Mouth in Patients Receiving Radiation Therapy for Head and Neck Cancer](https://onco.cc/trials/nct00003139/), [Pilocarpine in Treating Vaginal Dryness in Patients With Breast Cancer](https://onco.cc/trials/nct00343382/), [Trial Comparing Oral Pilocarpine (Salagen) Versus Submandibular Salivary Gland Transfer Protocol, For the Prevention of Radiation (XRT) Induced Xerostomia in Head and Neck Cancer Patients](https://onco.cc/trials/nct00168181/)

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JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/pilocarpine.json