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Prospective assessment of taste impairment and nausea during radiotherapy for head and neck cancer

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Abstract

Dysgeusia and nausea are common side effects observed in head and neck cancer patients treated with either exclusive radiotherapy or combined modality treatment. The aim of the present study was to prospectively evaluate dysgeusia, during treatment and follow-up, using the chemotherapy-induced taste alteration scale (CiTAS), a metrics based on 18-items exploring three dimensions (quantitative and qualitative changes in taste perception, and diet-related issues) identified through a four-factor analysis: decline in basic taste, discomfort, phantogeusia–parageusia, and general taste alterations. Moreover, we scored, according to Common Toxicity Criteria Adverse Events, nausea and other treatment-related toxicities. Since, ginger is traditionally used to prevent and/or treat nausea and vomiting, we prophylactically employed a ginger-based supplement named Naumix/Naugin (Gamfarma, Milan, Italy), to potentially mitigate both nausea and taste impairment. Using the CiTAS scale, we highlighted a progressive increase in all dysgeusia dimensions, peaking at the VII week of treatment and a subsequent partial late recovery. In particular, we observed a recovery for discomfort, phantogeusia–parageusia, and general taste alterations at 6 months. Grade 2 nausea, observed to be as low as 12.9% potentially due to the use of ginger, peaked at the III week of treatment. Finally, for patients experiencing nausea, the dysgeusia dimension of discomfort was also relevant.

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Author notes

  1. Stefania Martini and Giuseppe Carlo Iorio have equally contributed to the present study.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Oncology, Radiation Oncology, University of Turin School of Medicine, Via Genova 3, 10126, Turin, Italy

    Stefania Martini, Giuseppe Carlo Iorio, Francesco Olivero, Patrick Silvetti, Umberto Ricardi & Pierfrancesco Franco

  2. Department of Oncology, Radiation Oncology, AOU Citta’ Della Salute e Della Scienza, Turin, Italy

    Francesca Arcadipane & Monica Rampino

  3. Maxillofacial Surgery Division, Department of Surgical Sciences, University of Turin, Turin, Italy

    Paolo Garzino Demo & Massimo Fasolis

  4. 1st ENT Division, Department of Surgical Sciences, University of Turin, Turin, Italy

    Giancarlo Pecorari

  5. 2nd Medical Oncology Division, Department of Oncology, AOU Città Della Salute e Della Scienza, Turin, Italy

    Mario Airoldi

Authors
  1. Stefania Martini
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  2. Giuseppe Carlo Iorio
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  3. Francesca Arcadipane
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  4. Francesco Olivero
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  5. Patrick Silvetti
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  6. Monica Rampino
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  7. Paolo Garzino Demo
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  8. Massimo Fasolis
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  9. Giancarlo Pecorari
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  10. Mario Airoldi
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  11. Umberto Ricardi
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  12. Pierfrancesco Franco
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Pierfrancesco Franco.

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All the authors declare that they do not have any conflicts of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. The present study has been reviewed and approved by the Internal Review Board of the Department of Oncology of the University of Turin at AOU Citta’ della Salute e della Scienza, Turin, Italy.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Martini, S., Iorio, G.C., Arcadipane, F. et al. Prospective assessment of taste impairment and nausea during radiotherapy for head and neck cancer. Med Oncol 36, 44 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12032-019-1269-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12032-019-1269-x

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