According to patients, it is one of the worst side effects of cancer treatments: loss of taste and smell. They lose their pleasure in eating, have a bad taste in their mouth or sometimes even stop eating altogether. More research is now being conducted into this.
Researchers at the UMCG now receive a subsidy of 6.6 million euros from the Dutch Cancer Society. 700,000 of this goes to the research of internist-oncologist Jacco de Haan. De Haan will conduct research into loss of taste and smell during cancer treatments: “After baldness, patients often find loss of taste to be the worst side effect of cancer treatments.”
Pizza or fries
In 2018, Claudia Vermeulen received chemotherapy for lymphoma. She received a new treatment every 2 weeks and after each treatment she suffered from loss of taste and the distortion of flavors. According to Claudia, food no longer tasted like food: “Everything sweet became sour and a lot of it tasted like iron. As a result, you no longer eat what you think you are going to eat.”
Because Claudia’s tastes changed, she also started eating different things than normal. Only very strong flavors such as very salty and fatty were still tasty. That’s why she ate a lot of pizza or fries. “That was very difficult because I wanted to eat healthy, because it feels good and is good for your body to get through the chemo. But if a bite of a salad is as sour as a lemon, then you don’t eat a salad anymore. “
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Below the radar
According to internist-oncologist Jacco de Haan, the impact on the lives of patients with loss of taste and smell is a major problem that remains under the radar. As a result, patients are now not receiving the treatments they need: “Loss of taste and smell can occur with all types of cancer treatments and all types of medications. And a large proportion, at least more than half, of cancer patients experience this.”
De Haan explains that this side effect of cancer treatments is not really seen as a priority by both doctors and patients: “We just don’t really know yet what works and what doesn’t.” Claudia recognizes this: “Many side effects are simply accepted, because there is a greater goal, to get better.”
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Loss of taste and smell with corona
According to De Haan, it is difficult to conduct research into loss of taste because the causes and complaints can vary greatly per patient: “The chemo can damage cells, inflammation can occur in the mouth or it can be due to damage to the nerves in the brain. This means that one patient tastes much less and for other patients, food tastes like cardboard or iron.”
Because many corona patients also suffered from loss of smell and taste, more attention has been paid to the subject. De Haan explains that a new treatment method also emerged here. “With loss of taste due to corona, people started training their sense of taste, every day they had to smell strong odorants. That really had an effect, you could also see that in a brain scan.”
Physio for your nose and mouth
The new research by the UMCG led by De Haan consists of two parts. Some will focus on training their sense of taste and smell, just like with corona patients. According to De Haan, this can be seen as a kind of physio for your nose and mouth. “Cancer patients then learn to smell and taste new scents by smelling strong odorants every day.”
The other part of the research will be about taste control. Dietitians and chefs will then look at how a patient’s taste has changed. Experts will then look at how a patient’s diet can be adjusted so that it suits this taste. According to De Haan, this can lead to bizarre flavor combinations: “For someone who always has breakfast with yogurt, this could be yogurt with capers, for example.”
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To ease the pain
De Haan hopes that his research into loss of taste in cancer patients can provide a treatment that makes it a little more bearable and can ease the pain somewhat. Claudia received no treatment for her loss of taste in 2018. That’s why she came back after every chemo.
She therefore thinks it is good that a major study is now being conducted into loss of taste in cancer patients: “Loss of taste is annoying, but it is mainly the accumulation of side effects. Fortunately for me it was temporary, but for people who have been living with this for a long time this may be possible. be a very good solution.”
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2023-12-13 16:14:24
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