The iodine uptake of salivary glands is continuously reduced during the courses of therapy. The phenomenon of hyper-radiosensitivity may to some extent account for the occurrence of salivary gland hypofunction at very low radiation doses with low dose rates in (131)I therapy. On the other hand, failure to incorporate a nonuniform and preferential uptake by salivary gland ductal cells may result in underestimating the actual dose for the critical tissue. Other methods, including (124)I voxel-based dosimetry, are warranted to further investigate the (131)I-induced salivary gland toxicity.
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