Introduction:

Swallowing disorders are common after treatment for head and neck cancer. Exercises for the recovery of swallowing functions are important, but their prophylactic use is still poorly studied. Objective: To analyze the use of prophylactic swallowing exercises in people with head and neck cancer undergoing (neo)adjuvant treatment with radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy. Methods: Studies were retrieved from a systematic search of published work until October 2022 indexed in the PubMed central, LILACS, Scielo, CINAHL Complete, Cochrane Collection Plus, Nursing & Allied Health Collection and Medic Latina databases. Methodological quality and evidence synthesis were assessed with using the the “Quality Assessment Tool for Quantitative Studies” scale. Results: 1,401 studies were identified and only eight were selected for analysis and data extraction. Conclusion: The use of prophylactic exercises seems to have some benefit on swallowing functions, but the results are not consistent. Further research is suggested to study its potential benefits in a more specific way (i.e. type of exercise versus treatment).

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