ABSTRACT
Objective To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of mouse nerve growth factor in treating dysphagia in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma after radiotherapy.Methods Fifty-eight post-radiotherapy nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients with dysphagia were randomly divided into an observation group and a control group.Both groups received routine treatment,but the observation group was additionally injected with mouse nerve growth factor intramuscularly every day for four weeks.Before and after the 4 weeks of treatment,both groups were evaluated using Kubota's water drinking test,videofluoroscopy and the brief version of the WHO's Quality of Life scale.Results After 4 weeks,the patients in the observation group displayed significantly greater improvement in swallowing compared with the control group.There was a significant difference in the groups' average scores on the drinking water test and in the videofluoroscopy results.Moreover,the patients in the observation group had significantly higher quality of life scores than those in the control group,on average.Conclusions Mouse nerve growth factor may have a rapid and safe therapeutic effect on dysphagia induced by radiation.No obvious adverse reactions were observed.