Acupuncture-Like Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (ALTENS) or Pilocarpine in Treating Early Dry Mouth in Patients Undergoing Radiation Therapy for Head and Neck Cancer

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Diagnosis of head and neck cancer
• No clinical evidence of disease recurrence by ear, nose, and throat exam with a nasopharyngeal scope, if indicated, 8 weeks prior to registration
• Completed radiotherapy (i.e., standard or intensity-modulated radiotherapy) with or without chemotherapy ≥ 3 months and up to 2 years prior to study entry
• Grade 1-2 radiotherapy-induced xerostomia according to the NCI Common Toxicity Criteria for Adverse Effects (CTCAE) v.3.0 and the dry mouth/salivary gland xerostomia scale
• Must have evidence of residual salivary function with unstimulated (basal) whole salivary production ≥ 0.1 ml/min after having refrained from eating or drinking oral fluid for 2 hours
• No patients with normal saliva production (i.e., no salivary gland changes or no xerostomia)
• No history of serious adverse events after prior treatment with and discontinuation of pilocarpine
• No chronic lymphocytic leukemia

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

• See Disease Characteristics
• Zubrod performance status of 0-2
• Not pregnant or nursing
• Negative pregnancy test
• Fertile patients must use effective contraception
• No other invasive malignancy except non-melanomatous skin cancer or cancer from which the patient has been disease-free for at least 3 years (e.g., carcinoma in situ of the breast, oral cavity, or cervix)
• No concurrent contraindications to pilocarpine (e.g., uncontrolled asthma, miosis, or hypersensitivity)
• No severe, active co-morbidity, including any of the following:
• Unstable cardiac disease or requirement for a pacemaker in-situ
• Unstable angina and/or congestive heart failure requiring hospitalization within the past 6 months
• Transmural myocardial infarction within the past 6 months
• Acute bacterial or fungal infection requiring intravenous antibiotics at the time of registration
• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbation or other respiratory illness requiring hospitalization or precluding study therapy within 30 days prior to registration
• Hepatic insufficiency resulting in clinical jaundice and/or coagulation defects
• No Sjögren syndrome

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

• See Disease Characteristics
• At least 2 weeks since prior pilocarpine or cevimeline and no concurrent use for ophthalmic or non-ophthalmic indications
• No concurrent regular medications that induce xerostomia (e.g., tricyclic antidepressants, antihistamines with anticholinergic effects, or narcotics)
• No concurrent oral stimulating agents or salivary gland medical stimulants