Hector Center for Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, Department of Medicine 1, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Ulmenweg 18, D-, 91054, Erlangen, Germany.
Department of Medical and Life Sciences, Furtwangen University, Jakob-Kienzle-Str. 17, D-78054, VS-Schwenningen, Germany.
Support Care Cancer. 2018 Mar;26(3):843-851. doi: 10.1007/s00520-017-3898-y. Epub 2017 Sep 25.
Cancer patients are at high risk of malnutrition and tumor cachexia further increasing morbidity and mortality. Reasons for cachexia are not clear yet, but inflammatory processes as well as the occurrence of taste disorders reducing nutrient uptake are discussed to play key roles. The purpose of this study was to gain insight into causative factors of taste disturbance in cancer patients. Does the cancer itself, inflammatory processes or cancer therapy influence taste disorders?
To capture an underlying taste disorder patients with cancer (n = 42), acutely hospitalized inflammatory disease patients (n = 57) and healthy controls (n = 39) were examined. To assess the influence of chemotherapy, patients with and without chemotherapy were compared. Taste tests were performed according to DIN ISO 3972:2011. Inflammation was recorded using laboratory parameters. Statistical evaluation was conducted using the Software R.
Cancer patients showed significantly increased taste thresholds for sweet, salty, and umami compared to healthy controls. There were no significant differences in taste detection and recognition between patients with former, current, or without chemotherapeutical treatment. Patients with an acute inflammatory disease showed an increased taste threshold for umami compared to healthy controls.
It could be shown that cancer patients suffer from taste disorders irrespective of an existing chemotherapeutical treatment. Cancer-related inflammation appears to have a greater impact on taste perception than an acute inflammatory process. Therefore, an adapted dietary adjustment should be carried out at an early stage for cancer patients in order to avoid nutritional disorders caused by a taste disorder.
癌症患者存在发生营养不良和肿瘤恶病质的高风险，这进一步增加了发病率和死亡率。恶病质的病因尚不清楚，但炎症过程以及味觉障碍的发生导致营养摄入减少被认为起着关键作用。本研究旨在深入了解癌症患者味觉障碍的病因。是癌症本身、炎症过程还是癌症治疗导致了味觉障碍？
为了发现潜在的味觉障碍，我们对 42 名癌症患者（癌症组）、57 名急性住院炎症疾病患者（炎症组）和 39 名健康对照者（对照组）进行了检查。为了评估化疗的影响，我们比较了接受和未接受化疗的患者。味觉测试根据 DIN ISO 3972:2011 进行。使用实验室参数记录炎症情况。统计评估使用 R 软件进行。
与健康对照组相比，癌症患者的甜味、咸味和鲜味味觉阈值显著升高。有或没有化疗的癌症患者之间在味觉检测和识别方面没有显著差异。患有急性炎症性疾病的患者的鲜味味觉阈值与健康对照组相比有所增加。
研究结果表明，癌症患者存在味觉障碍，无论是否接受化疗。与急性炎症过程相比，癌症相关的炎症对味觉感知的影响更大。因此，应在早期为癌症患者进行适当的饮食调整，以避免因味觉障碍导致的营养紊乱。
