Morphology, Volume, and Density Characteristics of the Parotid Glands before and after Chemoradiation Therapy in Patients with Head and Neck Tumors

The multimodal approach for patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) includes treatment with chemoradiation therapy (CRT). A common concern regarding CRT side effects is the occurrence of structural and physiological alterations of the salivary glands due to exposure to ionizing radiation. The aim of this study is to examine the morphology, volume, and density of the parotid glands before and after CRT in HNC patients. A total of 49 HNC patients treated exclusively with CRT were included in the study. Ninety-eight parotid glands were evaluated before and after treatment by using contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CECT). Shapiro–Wilk test was performed, and the variables (pre-CRT and post-CRT) presented normal distribution. Pearson’s coefficient was used to assess the correlation between volume and density. CRT resulted in a significant decrease in the mean volume of the parotid glands (i.e., original volume reduced by 20.5%; P