3762 - Taste Changes in Patients Receiving Head and Neck Radiation - Initial Analysis from a Prospective Study

S. Yarlagadda¹, A. P. Almanzar¹, M. Rubens², and N. S. Kalman^1,3; ¹Department of Radiation Oncology, Miami Cancer Institute, Baptist Health South Florida, Miami, FL, ²Department of Biostatistics, Miami Cancer Institute, Baptist Health South Florida, Miami, FL, ³Department of Radiation Oncology, Florida International University, Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, Miami, FL

Purpose/Objective(s): Dysgeusia is a common toxicity with head and neck cancer (HNC) radiation therapy (RT). The objective of this prospective study was to evaluate the changes in taste perception in HNC patients during and post-RT and examine clinical factors affecting dysgeusia. Herein, we present the initial analysis. Materials/

Methods:

With approval from the institutional review board, consecutive patients between 2020-2023 receiving HNC RT were prospectively enrolled. The Waterless Empirical Taste Test (WETT) (Sensonics) was used to evaluate the concentration threshold for the 5 basic tastes: sweet (sucrose), sour (citric acid), salty (sodium chloride), bitter (caffeine), and umami (monosodium glutamate). For a total score of 53 (8 cellulose pads for each taste and 13 with no taste), patients were assessed baseline (pre-RT), 2 weeks, 4 weeks, end of RT (EOT), and 12 weeks post-RT. A relative change in score between EOT, follow-up WETT scores, and the individual patient’s baseline score was computed to assess dysgeusia. The mean dose received by the oral cavity, tongue, and salivary glands was recorded from electronic medical records to determine the factors affecting the relative change in the taste score.
Results: 46 patients had baseline taste testing, of which 27 completed the EOT and post-RT assessments. The primary tumor site was oropharynx (67%), oral cavity (15%) nasopharynx (10%), and larynx (5%). Median (range) WETT score (for a total score of 53) was 28 (2-47) at baseline, 24 (8-47) at EOT, and 27 (10-46) post-RT. Baseline and EOT comparison revealed a decline of the total score with a relative change of -16.89%, with the maximum change in umami taste (-65.93%) followed by salt taste (-30.36%). The relative total score change between baseline and follow-up was -9.57%, which demonstrated a slight improvement compared to EOT; umami (-43.21%) and salty (-10.04%) remained the highest affected tastes. Pearson correlation showed a strong correlation between the EOT relative change and mean tongue dose (Pearson coefficient (r): -0.6; p<0.05), and a moderate correlation to oral cavity mean dose (r: -0.54; p<0.05).
Conclusion: This study characterizes the significant alteration of taste perception in HNC patients which is amplified by the treatment and describes its correlation with dose to the tongue. Further studies in larger cohorts with longer follow-ups are underway to define definite dose-response relationship in dysgeusia and support treatment planning guidance.