Dysautonomia in oral and head and neck cancer patients

Dysautonomia is an umbrella term referring to a group of several medical conditions that cause a malfunction of the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS). This is the part of the nervous system that controls automatic processes or the things that one’s body does without having to think about them, such as heart rate, blood pressure, digestion, dilation, and constriction of the pupils of the eye, kidney function, and temperature control. Dysautonomia can be acute and reversible or non-reversable, chronic and progressive.

Dysautonomias in adults often are associated with, and may be secondary to, another disease process or a drug.  Common secondary causes include medications, chemotherapy, radiation treatments, spinal cord or head injury, or diabetes . 

Oral, head and neck cancer patients that receive radiation as part of their treatments, can have varying degrees of scatter radiation to these structures, and years after treatment develop some of the manifestations of dysautonomia. When the ANS doesn’t work as it should, it can cause heart and blood pressure problems, trouble breathing, and loss of bladder control among other symptoms.

People living with various forms of dysautonomia have trouble regulating some of the ANS systems, which can result in lightheadedness, fainting, unstable blood pressure, abnormal heart rates, and malnutrition.

● Balance Problems

● Fatigue

● Nausea, Vomiting, GI Trouble

● Irregular Heart Rate and Blood Pressure

● Fainting/ Loss of Consciousness

● Lightheadedness, Dizziness, Vertigo

● Brain Fog/ Forgetfulness

● Exercise intolerance

Patients with autonomic disorders usually require a multi-disciplinary team, as autonomic disorders can impact almost every organ and system of the body. While each specialist will have his or her own areas of expertise, it is still important for each member of the patient’s team to be familiar with the most up-to-date information on the patient’s autonomic disorder.

There is no cure for dysautonomia. Secondary forms of dysautonomia may improve with treatment of the underlying disease. The best that can be done is to deal with the various manifestations of it and their individual symptoms. Treating symptomology is not the same as treating the disease and is a coping mechanism not a cure. Lifestyle changes will be necessary for many of the symptoms to be reduced or mitigated.

Read more about dysautonomia at https://thedysautonomiaproject.org/dysautonomia/