PD832 - THE SILENT SIDE EFFECT: IDENTIFYING DYSGEUSIA IN CANCER PATIENTS UNDERGOING TREATMENT

PD832

THE SILENT SIDE EFFECT: IDENTIFYING DYSGEUSIA IN CANCER PATIENTS UNDERGOING TREATMENT

V. Ferri^1,*, S. Bevilacqua¹, C. Cappellini², S. Colatruglio¹, S. Corvasce¹, A. Gotti², A. M. Misotti¹, M. C. Ottobelli³, G. Preziati¹, S. Della Valle¹

¹Clinical Nutrition, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, ²Speciality School of Nutrition Science, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, ³Università degli Studi di Pavia, Pavia, Italy

 

Rationale: Despite its high prevalence and impact on dietary intake and quality of life, dysgeusia remains frequently underreported in cancer patients undergoing treatment. This study aims to evaluate its presence and characteristics, using the Chemotherapy-induced Taste Alteration Scale (CiTAS).

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted between November 2025 and March 2026 in cancer outpatients who accessed our Institute reporting taste alterations.

Dysgeusia was evaluated with CiTAS, across various treatment regimens, including chemotherapy (CT), immunotherapy (IT), and targeted therapy (TT).

Results: 60 patients underwent CiTAS evaluation (52% male). Table summarizes patient percentage distribution across therapies, mean CiTAS scores for the four dimensions and prevalence of water dysgeusia, in total cohort and per treatment.

 

Table excludes 27% of patients on combination therapies because it is not possible to discriminate the influence of each therapy.

Regarding individual scale items in the main cohort, highest mean scores were found for reduced appetite (2.5) and impaired or distorted taste (2.4), the lowest were reported for sour taste difficulty (1.6) and hot food intolerance (1.6).

Image:

 

Conclusion: CiTAS effectively characterizes dysgeusia not only in CT but across all oncological treatments considered. Since IT and TT patients experience similar dysgeusia to those in CT, particularly parageusia, phantageusia, and taste reduction, increased clinical vigilance is essential. Identifying these symptoms, even if unreported, enables proactive screening and targeted strategies (such as dietetic and nutritional counseling) to mitigate nutritional impact, prevent excessive dietary interference, and improve patient quality of life.

Disclosure of Interest: None declared