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Prospective observational study of taste assay in patients with solid tumors treated with standard chemotherapy (POTATO)

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Abstract

Purpose

The aim of our study is to evaluate taste changes in patients affected by solid tumors not involving oral cavity within the first month of standard chemotherapy.

Methods

In this monocentric, prospective, cohort study, we enrolled patients treated at our institution for different types of solid tumors between February and July 2019. Taste cotton swabs assay was used to assess taste changes.

Results

Thirty-one patients were enrolled and most of them had at least one change in taste. The taste that changed less was acid (42% of the population) whereas the one that changed the most was the perception of sweet (reduced in 35% of the population and increased in 45% of the population) and sour (reduced in 35% of the population). We did not find any statistical significant difference in terms of changes of taste and type of chemotherapy (emetogenic vs not, p > 0.05 for salty, sweet, bitter, and acid tastes). The type of primary tumor (breast vs GI-related) had a significant impact on perception of both salty (p = 0.0163) and acid (p = 0.0312) flavor. Furthermore, body mass composition assessed by BIA showed that obese patients had different changes in acid flavor vs non-obese patients (p = 0.04). This could not be proven when the assessment was made using BMI calculation.

Conclusions

Our study suggests that type of primary tumor (GI vs breast) more than type of chemotherapy used could be relevant in determining changes in taste during chemotherapy. Individualized dietary strategies based on these reported data are suggested, as to optimize patients’ management.

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Abbreviations

NCI CTCAE:

National Cancer Institute—Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events

BMI:

Body Mass Index

BIA:

Bio-electrical impedance analysis

GI:

Gastrointestinal

G-CSF:

Granulocyte-colony stimulating factor

GPCR:

G Protein-coupled receptor

MSG:

Monosodium glutamate

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Acknowledgments

This study did not receive any private form of funding and was supported entirely by Ospedali Riuniti di Ancona—Università Politecnica delle Marche. We would like to thank the personnel in the Dietetica e Nutrizione Clinica ward at Ospedali Riuniti di Ancona for having supported the study with the taste strips and the BIA. We would like to thank the patients who decided to participate in the study as well as their families.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Oncologia Clinica, AOU Ospedali Riuniti di Ancona, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy

    Riccardo Giampieri, Cecilia Copparoni, Sonia Crocetti, Maria Giuditta Baleani, Mirco Pistelli & Rossana Berardi

  2. Dipartimento Scienze Cliniche e Molecolari, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy

    Riccardo Giampieri & Rossana Berardi

  3. Dietetica e Nutrizione Clinica, AOU Ospedali Riuniti di Ancona, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy

    Elisa Pelati, Aurora Anna Mobili, Sofia Pugnaloni, Sonila Alia, Carlotta Mariani, Arianna Vignini & Marina Taus

Authors
  1. Riccardo Giampieri
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  2. Elisa Pelati
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  3. Aurora Anna Mobili
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  4. Cecilia Copparoni
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  11. Arianna Vignini
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  12. Marina Taus
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Contributions

Conceptualization: Riccardo Giampieri, Elisa Pelati, Aurora Anna Mobili, Mirco Pistelli, Marina Taus

Data curation: Riccardo Giampieri, Elisa Pelati, Aurora Anna Mobili, Cecilia Copparoni, Sonia Crocetti, Maria Giuditta Baleani

Formal analysis: Riccardo Giampieri, Cecilia Copparoni, Sonia Crocetti, Maria Giuditta Baleani

Investigation: Elisa Pelati, Aurora Anna Mobili, Sofia Pugnaloni, Sonila Alia, Carlotta Mariani

Methodology: Riccardo Giampieri, Elisa Pelati, Aurora Anna Mobili, Mirco Pistelli, Marina Taus

Software: Riccardo Giampieri

Supervision: Riccardo Giampieri, Rossana Berardi, Marina Taus, Arianna Vignini

Writing—original draft: Riccardo Giampieri, Elisa Pelati, Cecilia Copparoni, Sonia Crocetti, Maria Giuditta Baleani

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Riccardo Giampieri.

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Giampieri, R., Pelati, E., Mobili, A.A. et al. Prospective observational study of taste assay in patients with solid tumors treated with standard chemotherapy (POTATO). Support Care Cancer 29, 851–858 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-020-05553-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-020-05553-3

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