Impaired salivary gland function after radiotherapy compounded by commonly prescribed medications

Impaired salivary gland function can be a major cause of late morbidity following the treatment of head and neck cancer with radiotherapy. A large number of commonly prescribed medications can also reduce salivary gland function. We report three patients with already impaired salivary gland function following successful radiotherapy in whom additional prescribed medication led to an increased reduction in salivary flow, thus further impairing the quality of life of these patients. Stopping the medication resulted in subjective and objective improvement in salivary gland function.