A pilot study of taste changes among hospice inpatients with advanced cancer

Abstract

Identification of taste abnormalities can help understand difficulties in nutrition. We evaluated 15 hospice inpatients with advanced cancer for subjective taste changes. The majority had both subjective and objective taste changes. Most thought all food was tasteless followed by loss of sweet sensation and meat aversion. About half of the participants exhibited anorexia and weight loss with decreased energy intake. Both detection and recognition thresholds for these basic tastes were abnormal for the majority of participants. Reduced sensitivity for sweet and salt taste and altered perception for sour predominated in formal taste testing.