Functionality of bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells derived from head and neck cancer patients - A FDA-IND enabling study regarding MSC-based treatments for radiation-induced xerostomia.

Purpose: Salivary dysfunction is a significant side effect of radiation therapy for head and neck cancer (HNC). Preliminary data suggests that mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) can improve salivary function. Whether MSCs from HNC patients who have completed chemoradiation are functionally similar to those from healthy patients is unknown.