Measuring chemosensory changes during cancer treatment version 3
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Comparison of a questionnaire and objective measures of chemosensory changes in oncology patients
IRAS ID
165809
Contact name
Megan Price
Contact email
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 4 months, 28 days
Research summary
Taste and smell changes in cancer are often underreported yet patients rate them as highly distressing symptoms. They can impact on food intake and cause weight loss, and reduce quality of life. They can be caused by cancer itself or by its treatment such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Studies in this area have most frequently measured taste changes in the absence of consideration of smell and the prevalence during chemotherapy has been reported at 38-84%. Taste and smell changes have been measured through different methods such as objective measurements, via a variety of questionnaires and interviews. Some studies in cancer patients have adopted a questionnaire initially designed for use in HIV. This questionnaire has been selected most often as it contains specific questions which attempt to differentiate between bitter, sweet, salty and sour taste changes, and smell changes. The aim of this study will be to compare this questionnaire against objective measures of taste and smell changes amongst cancer patients. Objective measures will be ‘taste strips’ to measure taste and ‘sniffin’ sticks’ to measure smell. Should the questionnaire be comparable, it will form an important tool for use within research, and potentially clinical practice, to further investigate the progression of taste and smell changes from diagnosis through to treatment and beyond. It could also be used to investigate potential treatments or preventative factors for taste and smell changes within cancer patients. Conversely, should there be a discrepancy between the taste and smell changes reported through the questionnaire and the objective measurements recorded, this will provide further evidence to support the theory previously put forward by other investigators that due to the complex interactions of taste and smell, they cannot be accurately tested via objective measurements alone.
REC name
HSC REC A
REC reference
14/NI/1143
Date of REC Opinion
3 Dec 2014
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion