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Taste alterations and oral discomfort in patients receiving chemotherapy

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Abstract

Purpose

Taste alterations (TA) and oral discomfort in cancer patients are neglected side effects of the disease and treatments. They contribute to poor appetite, decrease food intake and affect quality of life, leading to adverse outcomes such as malnutrition and depression. The study aimed to explore TAs in relation to other oral conditions causing discomfort in cancer patients. Additionally, the correlation between patients’ acidity of saliva and experienced TAs and oral discomfort was evaluated.

Methods

A case study including 100 patients diagnosed with cancer receiving chemotherapy or immunotherapy. Data were collected using two questionnaire forms: the Chemotherapy-induced Taste Alteration Scale (CiTAS) and an additional information questionnaire. Saliva samples were collected for each patient and measured with a pocket pH meter. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, and comparisons were performed using the Kruskal–Wallis H test, Mann–Whitney U test and Fisher’s exact test.

Results

The prevalence of reported TAs was 93%. Patient age, oral discomfort and swallowing difficulty were found to be significant factors for experienced TAs (p < 0.05). No correlation between patients’ acidity of saliva and reported TAs and oral discomfort was found.

Conclusion

CiTAS proved to be a convenient tool to collect information about TAs in cancer patients. Using the CiTAS tool, a high prevalence (93%) of reported TAs in cancer patients receiving chemo- or immunotherapy was found. CiTAS provides a fast and cheap recognition of symptoms and causes of TAs that can be addressed.

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Data availability

All data were collected during the study and have not previously been published. The corresponding author has full control and access to all primary data. If requested, the journal Supportive Care in Cancer may review the data. The saliva samples are not kept.

Code availability

Not applicable.

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Funding

This work was financially supported by the Innovationsfonden (Denmark).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Main Kitchen, Kulinarium, Aalborg University Hospital, Hobrovej 18-22, 9000, Aalborg, Denmark

    Anne Kathrine Larsen, Christine Thomsen, Mathilde Sanden, Camilla Bundgaard Anker & Marie Nerup Mortensen

  2. Centre for Nutrition and Bowel Diseases, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aalborg University Hospital, Hobrovej 18-22, 9000, Aalborg, Denmark

    Lotte Boa Skadhauge

  3. Department of Food Science, University of Copenhagen, Rolighedsvej 26, 1958, Frederiksberg C, Denmark

    Wender L. P. Bredie

Authors
  1. Anne Kathrine Larsen
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  2. Christine Thomsen
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  3. Mathilde Sanden
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  4. Lotte Boa Skadhauge
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  5. Camilla Bundgaard Anker
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  6. Marie Nerup Mortensen
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  7. Wender L. P. Bredie
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Contributions

Anne Kathrine Larsen and Marie Nerup Mortensen wrote the protocol. Anne Kathrine Larsen, Christine Thomsen, Mathilde Sanden and Camilla Bundgaard Anker collected the interview and saliva data. Lotte Boa Skadhauge collected data from the patients’ journals. Anne Kathrine Larsen and Christine Thomsen process the data. Anne Kathrine Larsen drafted the manuscript. Wender Bredie supervised the protocol and the findings of this work. All authors discussed the results and contributed to the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Anne Kathrine Larsen.

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Ethics approval

In accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki, written consent was collected from each participant before inclusion. The Danish national committee on health research ethics approved the conduction of the study (ID: N-20180082). Patient information was pseudo-anonymized obeying General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) rules.

Consent to participate and publication of results

Prior to inclusion orally and written information were presented. Participants were informed that participation was voluntarily and that they could withdraw from the study at any time. Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study and publication of study results.

Conflict of interest

The authors have no affiliations with or involvement in any organization or entity with any financial interest or non-financial interest in the subject matter or materials discussed in this manuscript.

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Larsen, A.K., Thomsen, C., Sanden, M. et al. Taste alterations and oral discomfort in patients receiving chemotherapy. Support Care Cancer 29, 7431–7439 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-021-06316-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-021-06316-4

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