Effects of chemo-therapeutic drugs used in head and neck cancers on sub-mandibular glands of rats

Introduction
Chemo-therapeutic drugs can cause morphological damages to the salivary glands.

Objectives
This study aimed to analyze and elucidate 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), cisplatin, methotrexate (MTX), and adriamycin (ADR)-induced morphological changes on submandibular glands (SMGs) of the rats.

Material and methods
Forty male Wistar albino rats were divided into five groups, with 8 rats per group. In the control group, 1 ml/kg 0.9% sterile saline solution; in the second group, 100 mg/kg dose of 5-FU; in the third group, 5 mg/kg dose of cisplatin; in the fourth group, 15 mg/kg dose of MTX; in the fifth group, 15 mg/kg dose of ADR were injected once a day for three consecutive days intra-peritoneally. In all groups, SMGs were excised, histopathological analyses were done using a light microscope, and total protein content was analyzed according to Lowry method. Data were examined using analysis of variance (ANOVA), Tukey HSD, Kruskal-Wallis, and Dunn’s tests. Results were evaluated at 95% confidence interval and significance level of p < 0.05.

Results
There was a statistically significant decrease in gland weight and total protein content of the 5-FU, ADR, and cisplatin groups compared to that of the control (p < 0.001). However, the decrease in gland weight and total protein content of MTX group was not statistically significant (p > 0.05). Acinus areas of 5-FU, ADR, cisplatin, and MTX groups were lower than that of the control significantly (p < 0.001).

Conclusions
According to morphological parameters of our study, the most toxic effects were found to be caused by 5-FU, followed by ADR and cisplatin, while MTX presented the least toxic effects on the rats’ SMGs.