Pathological changes and functional reconstruction of radiation-induced salivary glands repaired by stem cells and biomaterials / 中国组织工程研究

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Radiation therapy is currently one of the main treatments for head and neck cancer. Radiation therapy can kill cancer cells, but it can also damage normal cells or tissues. OBJECTIVE: To summarize the research progress of the changed structure of radioactive salivary glands and repair in recent years. METHODS: PubMed database, Wanfang database and China Full-Text Journal Database were searched. The search terms were “salivary glands; radiation injury; histological change; cell therapy” in English and Chinese. The time range was from 1991 to 2020. By reading the title, abstract and full text, repetitive studies were excluded. Finally, 57 articles were summarized. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: In the treatment of head and neck cancer patients, xerostomia caused by radioactive damage to salivary gland tissue is its typical chronic side effect. At present, it is believed that radiation will mainly affect the structure of salivary gland tissues and lead to the decline of its function, including changes in the structure of salivary glands and ducts, as well as changes in saliva secretion and excretion after blood vessel and nerve injury. However, the mechanism of radiation damage has not been pointed out. Studies have shown that stem cells derived from fat, bone marrow and human amniotic membrane epithelium can treat radiation-induced salivary gland damage, improve salivary secretion, and the transplanted cells can form secretory alveoli and duct structures in the body.