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Lung cancer

Self-reported taste and smell alterations in patients under investigation for lung cancer

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Pages 1405-1412 | Received 25 Nov 2013, Accepted 06 Feb 2014, Published online: 04 Apr 2014
 

Abstract

This study of patients under investigation for lung cancer (LC) aims to: 1) examine the prevalence of self-reported taste and smell alterations (TSAs) and their relationships with demographic and clinical characteristics; and 2) explore nutritional importance of TSAs by examining their associations with patient-reported weight loss, symptoms interfering with food intake, and changes in food intake.

Methods. Patients were recruited consecutively during investigation for LC from one university hospital in Sweden. Patient-reported information on TSAs, demographics, six-month weight history, symptoms interfering with food intake, and changes in food intake was obtained. Relationships between TSAs and other variables were examined using two-tailed significance tests. In addition, putative explanatory factors for weight loss were explored in those patients diagnosed with LC, since a relationship between TSAs and weight loss was found in this group.

Results. The final sample consisted of 215 patients, of which 117 were diagnosed with primary LC within four months of study inclusion and 98 did not receive a cancer diagnosis. The 38% prevalence of TSAs was identical in both groups, and were generally reported as mild and not interfering with food intake. However, a statistically significant relationship between TSAs and weight loss was found among patients with LC, with a median weight change of − 5.5% and a higher frequency of weight loss ≥ 10%. Patients with LC and weight loss ≥ 10%, had higher frequency of reporting TSAs, of decreased food intake and of ≥ 1 symptom interfering with food intake compared with those with less weight loss.

Conclusion. TSAs, although relatively mild, were present in 38% of patients with and without LC. Relationships between TSAs and weight loss were found among patients with LC, but not fully explained by decreased food intake. This highlights the complexity of cancer-related weight loss.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the staff at the clinics for recruiting patients to the study, statistician Sara Runesdotter for invaluable advice during data analysis and interpretation of results, research assistant Ylva Hellstadius for assisting with data collection and all patients who generously shared their experiences with us. Economic support was provided by The Swedish Research Council, The Strategic Research Program in Health Care Sciences and The Health Care Science Postgraduate School, Karolinska Institutet.

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.