PP008 - OLFACTORY AND GUSTATORY FUNCTION AND NUTRITIONAL RISK DURING PALLIATIVE CHEMOTHERAPY

PP008

OLFACTORY AND GUSTATORY FUNCTION AND NUTRITIONAL RISK DURING PALLIATIVE CHEMOTHERAPY

K. G. Frederiksen^1,2,3,*, M. B. Kristensen², B. S. van der Meij^4,5, L. Duval^6,7, T. Ovesen^1,3

¹Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, ²Department of Nutrition, Gødstrup Hospital, Herning, ³Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark, ⁴Department of Human Nutrition and Health, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, ⁵Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Lifestyle, HAN University of Applied Sciences, Nijmegen, Netherlands, ⁶Department of Oncology, Gødstrup Hospital, ⁷Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Herning, Denmark

Rationale: Smell and taste disturbances are common in patients receiving chemotherapy and may impair food intake and increase the risk of malnutrition. Yet, objective data on olfactory and gustatory function during palliative chemotherapy remain limited. This study aimed to assess olfactory and gustatory function and their association with nutritional risk in patients receiving palliative chemotherapy.

Methods: This prospective cohort study included newly diagnosed patients with lung, pancreatic, ovarian, or colorectal cancer receiving palliative chemotherapy. Nutritional risk was evaluated using Nutritional Risk Screening 2002. Olfactory function was assessed with the Sniffin’ Sticks Threshold, Discrimination and Identification (TDI) test. Gustatory function was assessed with a four‑item taste identification test (sweet, sour, salty, bitter). Hyposmia was defined as TDI <30.75; hypogeusia as ≥1 taste identification error. Patients were tested at baseline and after 12 weeks.

Results: Forty-four patients were included (57% female, median age 67 years). At baseline, 41% were at nutritional risk, 66% had hyposmia and 16% hypogeusia. Mean total TDI was 28 ± 6.2 at baseline and 27.6 ± 6.0 at follow-up (p=0.67), with a decline in identification over time (p = 0.006). The proportion of patients with hypogeusia increased from 16% at baseline to 25% at follow-up (p = 0.39), with errors most often for sour and bitter tastes. Nutritional risk tended to be more frequent in patients with hyposmia than in patients without hyposmia (52% vs. 20%, OR 4.15, p=0.057). No differences were observed for hypogeusia (57% vs. 38%, OR 2.15, p=0.419).

Conclusion: Hyposmia and hypogeusia are common during palliative chemotherapy, potentially contributing to nutritional risk. Early sensory assessment may help identify patients at risk and guide timely targeted nutritional support.

Disclosure of Interest: None declared