Our previous study suggested that recombinant GDNF (rGDNF), when administered intraglandularly either before or after RT, was able to improve the murine submandibular gland morphology and function from RT damage, indicating that GDNF could be a potential therapeutic agent to prevent RT-related xerostomia in HNSCC patients [14]. Here, GDNF is linked to head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.