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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.
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.
Stimulates muscarinic receptors on whatever salivary gland tissue survives radiotherapy, increasing saliva flow.
1.Pilocarpine slips into a pocket on its target.
| Region | Year | Indication |
|---|---|---|
| US | 1994 | Dry mouth caused by radiotherapy for head and neck cancer |
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Query for this drug: (TITLE:"Pilocarpine" OR ABSTRACT:"Pilocarpine" OR TITLE:"Salagen" OR ABSTRACT:"Salagen") AND (cancer OR tumor OR tumour OR oncology OR carcinoma OR lymphoma OR leukemia OR leukaemia OR myeloma OR sarcoma OR melanoma OR glioma). Results are unfiltered search hits about Pilocarpine, not a curated reading list.
Shares Radioprotectors and normal-tissue sparing drugs, Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma and the tag radiation-wave3.
Shares Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma and the tag radiation-wave3.
Shares Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma and the tag radiation-wave3.
Shares Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma and the tag radiation-wave3.
Shares Radioprotectors and normal-tissue sparing drugs, Dry mouth, teeth and taste after head and neck radiotherapy, Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.
Shares Radioprotectors and normal-tissue sparing drugs, Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.
Shares Dry mouth, teeth and taste after head and neck radiotherapy, Nasopharyngeal carcinoma, Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.
Shares Radioprotectors and normal-tissue sparing drugs, Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.