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Changes in taste and food preferences in breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy: a pilot study

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Abstract

Purpose

Cancer treatment may relate to appetite reduction and malnutrition. We investigated taste alterations and dish-type preferences during chemo- and/or radiation therapy in breast cancer patients.

Methods

Breast cancer patients (BC, n = 59) scheduled to receive cancer therapy and healthy subjects (control group or CTRL, n = 49) were voluntarily recruited. Taste detection thresholds (DTs) and recognition thresholds (RT) were compared between pre-treatment BC patients and CTRL for sweet (sucrose), salty (NaCl), bitter (caffeine), and sour (citric acid) solutions. Changes in taste thresholds and dish preferences during treatment were monitored in the BC group. Blood chemistry and anthropometric data were collected.

Results

At baseline, BC patients demonstrated lower sweet and salty DTs and RTs and a higher sour RT compared to CTRL. Bitter DT and RT were similar in both groups. Mild/soft dishes were preferred over fried/oily dishes by BC patients. Throughout treatment in BC patients, sweet thresholds significantly declined, while salty, bitter, and sour DTs and RTs were not affected, and there was no increase in preference for a dish. However, preference towards mild/soft dishes remained. While sweet-sour fruits and sweetened nuts were not favored during therapy.

Conclusions

Sensitivities to sweet, salty, and sour but not bitter tastes differed between BC patients and CTRL. During treatment, sweet taste sensitivity increased while other tastes were unaffected. BC patients preferred mild/soft dishes over fried and sweetened dishes compared to CTRL. Our findings may contribute to developing dishes for breast cancer patients to increase food intake and thereby lower the risk of malnutrition.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Hyon Jung Park, Eun Ju Jeong, Woo Young Sim, Na Rae Yoon, Se Hyun Hu, and Hye Won Han for their assistance with subject enrollment and data collection.

Funding

This research was supported by the BK21 Plus project of the National Research Foundation of Korea Grant. The funder had no role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Food and Nutrition, Brain Korea 21 PLUS Project, College of Human Ecology, Yonsei University, Seoul, 03722, South Korea

    Yeon-hee Kim, Mina Song & Seung-Min Lee

  2. Division of Medical Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Yonsei Cancer Center, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea

    Gun Min Kim & Hyun Cheol Chung

  3. Department of Applied Statistics, College of Economics and Commerce, Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea

    Sungtaek Son & Sangun Park

Authors
  1. Yeon-hee Kim
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  2. Gun Min Kim
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  4. Mina Song
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  7. Seung-Min Lee
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Seung-Min Lee.

Ethics declarations

The study protocol was approved by the Institutional Review Boards of Human Research Protection Center at Severance Hospital Yonsei University Health System (Board Approval Number 4-2012-0915), and each subject signed an informed consent prior to participating in the study.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Kim, Yh., Kim, G.M., Son, S. et al. Changes in taste and food preferences in breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy: a pilot study. Support Care Cancer 28, 1265–1275 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-019-04924-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-019-04924-9

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