Institut Paul Bocuse Research Centre, Ecully Cedex, France; CNRS, UMR5292, INSERM U1028, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, University Lyon, France.
Institut Paul Bocuse Research Centre, Ecully Cedex, France.
Lung Cancer. 2023 Mar;177:29-36. doi: 10.1016/j.lungcan.2023.01.007. Epub 2023 Jan 12.
Cancer patients undergoing cytotoxic chemotherapies exhibit a series of adverse side effects including smell and taste alterations, which can have a significant impact on their food behavior and quality of life. Particularly, olfactory alterations are often underestimated, although declared as frequent by cancer patients. In the present study, we set out to examine loss of smell in lung cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy and its relationship to food habits.
Forty-four bronchial cancer patients receiving cisplatin and 44 controls age and gender matched participants were tested for olfactory and gustatory functions using the European Test of Olfactory Capabilities and the Taste Strips test. Participants reported their food and dietary habits by filling a self-administered questionnaire. Patients were tested under two different sessions: i) before the beginning of the treatment, and ii) 6 weeks later, after 2 cycles of chemotherapy. Controls were tested under the same protocol with two sessions separated by 6 weeks.
The results highlighted decreased smell and taste abilities in almost half of the lung patients' group even before the exposition to Cisplatin. On a perceptual level, patients rated typical food odors as less edible compared to controls. Moreover, within the patients' group, hyposmics reported using more condiments, possibly as a compensatory mechanism to their decreased sensory abilities. Taken together, these findings showed that loss of smell is prevalent in lung cancer patients and is related to changes in dietary practices including seasoning. Future studies will provide a better understanding of these sensory compensation mechanisms associated with olfactory loss and their effects on food pleasure in this patient population.
接受细胞毒性化学疗法的癌症患者表现出一系列不良反应，包括嗅觉和味觉改变，这会对他们的食物行为和生活质量产生重大影响。特别是，尽管癌症患者经常报告嗅觉改变，但通常会低估这种改变。在本研究中，我们旨在研究接受化疗的肺癌患者嗅觉丧失及其与饮食习惯的关系。
使用欧洲嗅觉能力测试和味觉棒测试对 44 名接受顺铂治疗的支气管癌患者和 44 名年龄和性别匹配的对照参与者进行嗅觉和味觉功能测试。参与者通过填写自我管理问卷报告他们的食物和饮食习惯。患者在两次不同的治疗阶段进行测试：i）在治疗开始前，ii）在化疗 2 个周期后 6 周后。对照组在相同的方案下分两次测试，每次测试间隔 6 周。
结果显示，几乎一半的肺癌患者在接触顺铂之前就已经出现嗅觉和味觉能力下降。在感知层面上，与对照组相比，患者认为典型食物气味的可食用性较低。此外，在患者组中，嗅觉减退者报告使用更多的调味料，这可能是他们感觉能力下降的补偿机制。综上所述，这些发现表明，嗅觉丧失在肺癌患者中很常见，并且与饮食习惯的变化有关，包括调味。未来的研究将更好地了解与嗅觉丧失相关的这些感官补偿机制及其对该患者群体的食物愉悦感的影响。
