Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Apr 22;32(5):300.
doi: 10.1007/s00520-024-08499-y.

A taste alteration-related scale assesses megestrol to improve chemotherapy-induced anorexia

Lihong Wang  1 , Yaling Tan  2 , Lan Yao  3 , Daqiang He  4
Affiliations

A taste alteration-related scale assesses megestrol to improve chemotherapy-induced anorexia

Lihong Wang et al. Support Care Cancer. .

Abstract

Purpose: We evaluated the efficacy of megestrol in improving chemotherapy-related anorexia by analyzing the related scales of taste alteration.

Methods: We conducted the current study on a group of advanced patients with cancer with two or more chemotherapy cycles. The chemotherapy-induced taste alteration scale (CiTAs) scale helped assess the megestrol effects on basic taste perception, aversive taste changes, unpleasant symptoms, and associated concerns. Furthermore, the Short Nutritional Assessment Questionnaire scale (SNAQ) helped measure the impact of megestrol on malnutrition likelihood in patients experiencing chemotherapy-induced anorexia. The World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL)-BREF Scale was used to evaluate the quality of life of participants, producing scores related to physical health, psychological well-being, environmental factors, and social relationships.

Results: The CiTAs scale assessment indicated that administering megestrol significantly enhanced taste perception among advanced patients with cancer undergoing chemotherapy. Notably, the megestrol group patients showed significantly higher Short Nutritional Assessment Questionnaire (SNAQ) scores than the control group. The megestrol group patients also exhibited higher physiological (PHYS) scores than their control group counterparts. However, this distinction was not statistically significant. The study findings indicate that patients who received megestrol demonstrated significantly higher scores in psychological (PSYCH) and environmental(ENVIR) domains than the control group. Furthermore, megestrol administration was associated with significantly elevated SOCIL and ENVIR levels in patients.

Conclusion: The proficient efficacy evaluation of megestrol in enhancing appetite, mitigating malnutrition likelihood, and improving the quality of life of chemotherapy-induced anorexic patients can be achieved through taste-related scales.

Keywords: Chemotherapy; CiTAs; Megestrol; SNAQ; WHOQOL-BREF.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Lindley C, McCune JS, Thomason TE, Lauder D, Sauls A, Adkins S, Sawyer WT (1999) Perception of chemotherapy side effects cancer versus nonpatients with cancer. Cancer Pract 7(2):59–65. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1523-5394.1999.07205.x - DOI - PubMed
    1. Bernhardson B-M, Tishelman C, Rutqvist LE (2008) Self-reported taste and smell changes during cancer chemotherapy. Support Care Cancer: Off J Multinl Assoc Support Care Cancer 16(3):275–283. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-007-0319-7 - DOI
    1. Kot E, Kucharska K, Monteleone AM, Monteleone P (2020) Structural and functional brain correlates of altered taste processing in anorexia nervosa: a systematic review. Eur Eating Disord Rev: J Eating Disord Assoc 28(2):122–40. https://doi.org/10.1002/erv.2713 - DOI
    1. Kano T, Kanda K (2013) Development and validation of a chemotherapy-induced taste alteration scale. Oncol Nurs Forum 40(2):E79-85. https://doi.org/10.1188/13.ONF.E79-E85 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Pedersini R, Zamparini M, Bosio S, di Mauro P, Turla A, Monteverdi S, Zanini A et al (2022) Taste alterations during neo/adjuvant chemotherapy and subsequent follow-up in breast patients with cancer: a prospective single-center clinical study. Support Care Cancer: Off J Multinat Assoc Support Care Cancer 30(8):6955–61. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-022-07091-6 - DOI

Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources