{"entity":{"id":"pilocarpine","kind":"drug","name":"Pilocarpine","aka":["Salagen"],"tldr":"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.","status":"approved","asOf":"2026-09-16","links":[{"label":"Wikipedia","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilocarpine"}],"tags":["radiation-wave3"],"related":[],"cancers":["head-and-neck","nasopharyngeal"],"sections":[],"technologies":["radioprotectors"],"targets":[],"drugs":[],"companies":["eisai"],"institutions":[],"pathways":[],"terms":[],"trials":["nct00343382","nct00003139","nct00168181"],"people":[],"bottlenecks":[],"keyPapers":[],"journals":[],"dependsOn":[],"notes":[],"provenance":{"editedBy":"OnCo radiation expansion","editedOn":"2026-09-16"},"modality":"Cholinergic agonist (small molecule) for radiation-induced dry mouth","supportive":true,"mechanism":"Stimulates muscarinic receptors on whatever salivary gland tissue survives radiotherapy, increasing saliva flow.","approvals":[{"region":"US","year":1994,"indication":"Dry mouth caused by radiotherapy for head and neck cancer"}],"mechanismSteps":[],"toxicity":[],"access":[],"regulatoryEvents":[]},"route":"/drugs/pilocarpine/","neighbours":{"cancer":[{"id":"head-and-neck","kind":"cancer","name":"Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma","route":"/cancers/head-and-neck/"},{"id":"nasopharyngeal","kind":"cancer","name":"Nasopharyngeal carcinoma","route":"/cancers/nasopharyngeal/"}],"technology":[{"id":"dry-mouth-teeth-after-head-neck-radiotherapy","kind":"technology","name":"Dry mouth, teeth and taste after head and neck radiotherapy","route":"/technologies/dry-mouth-teeth-after-head-neck-radiotherapy/"},{"id":"radioprotectors","kind":"technology","name":"Radioprotectors and normal-tissue sparing drugs","route":"/technologies/radioprotectors/"}],"company":[{"id":"eisai","kind":"company","name":"Eisai","route":"/companies/eisai/"}],"trial":[{"id":"nct00003139","kind":"trial","name":"Pilocarpine in Preventing Mucositis and Dry Mouth in Patients Receiving Radiation Therapy for Head and Neck Cancer","route":"/trials/nct00003139/"},{"id":"nct00343382","kind":"trial","name":"Pilocarpine in Treating Vaginal Dryness in Patients With Breast Cancer","route":"/trials/nct00343382/"},{"id":"nct00168181","kind":"trial","name":"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","route":"/trials/nct00168181/"}]}}