Food intake, eating-related complaints, and smell and taste sensations in patients with cancer of the lung, ovary and breast undergoing chemotherapy.

Nutritional status and energy and protein intake were studied in 52 patients with cancer of the breast, ovary or lung before, after 1, and after 3 cycles of aggressive chemotherapy. Pre-treatment intakes were somewhat lower than recommended and did not change after 3 cycles of chemotherapy, neither did nutritional status. Many patients had eating-related complaints, but these complaints did not increase significantly with chemotherapeutic treatment. In 31 patients electrical taste detection thresholds and chemical smell detection thresholds were measured before and after 3 cycles of chemotherapy. Changes in thresholds had no relation to changes in energy and protein intake. Perceived taste and smell changes were not reflected in chemosensory threshold values.