Clinical trial · Interventional
Taste Alterations Study
Effects of Patient Education and Self-Management in Cancer Patients Who Experience Chemotherapy-Induced Taste Alterations
- Source
- ClinicalTrials.gov
- Retrieved
- Sep 26, 2026
- Layer
- normalized (units and labels harmonized; values unchanged)
- Run
- ING-CLINICALTRIALS-20260926-000001
Summary
Brief summary (as posted)
The main questions it aims to answer are: 1. Does completing a standard assessment increase the detection of chemotherapy induced taste changes compared with usual care (no assessment)? What TA are experienced? Are there any patterns in TA symptom occurrence based on age, sex, race/ethnicity, cancer type, chemotherapy agent, etc. 2. Do patients take action to deal with the TA? What strategies are used? Do patients in the intervention group use the assessments to select interventions? 3. Do the interventions lessen TA symptoms and maintain food intake? Is the treatment (in-depth assessment and education) more effective in lessening the intensity of TA than usual care? Which level of assessment is needed to support symptom management to reduce symptom severity? Participants will: Complete baseline assessment before starting their initial chemotherapy infusion (all patients) Participate in baseline patient education based on assigned intervention (usual care vs. treatment) Engage in TA management between chemotherapy infusion clinic visits based on education Visit the clinic for chemotherapy infusions as scheduled; Complete TA assessments and reporting based on intervention; Work with nurse coaches to answer questions and help with the intervention. Complete study data collection on the 4th chemotherapy cycle (but continue intervention) Complete final data collection at 6 months
Conditions
Conditions (2)
Free-text conditions as registered, with the CancerIndex entity they were reconciled to and the match type.
| Condition (as posted) | Mapped entity | Match | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chemotherapy Side Effects | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
| Taste, Altered | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
Interventions
Interventions (2)
| Intervention | Type | Mapped drug | Match |
|---|---|---|---|
| Taste Alteration Self-Assessment | Behavioral | — | UNRESOLVED |
| Taste Alternation Self-Management | Behavioral | — | UNRESOLVED |
Design
Arms and outcomes
Arms (2)
- type
- NO_INTERVENTION
- label
- Control/Usual Care
- description
- Chemotherapy infusion clinics deliver infusion services based on the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Quality Oncology Practice Initiative (QOPI) Chemotherapy Administration Safety Standards (2020) including standard toxicity screening and providing standard chemotherapy patient education with general information for managing nausea and other gastrointestinal side effects and nutrition tips. Usual care patients will be supplemented with a single-item question to evaluate taste alteration severity and to gather information about what they are doing and their diet intake.
- type
- EXPERIMENTAL
- label
- Treatment - TA Self-monitoring and Self-management
- description
- The nurse-led intervention involves using a valid/reliable TA assessment tool (Chemotherapy-induced Taste Alterations Scale (CiTAS) and teaching the patient to use the assessments and the evidence-based Patient Education Sheet to select assessment-driven interventions to manage TA symptoms. Data is collected about the specific actions prescribed in the teaching tool to identify which interventions were used and their overall impact.
- interventionNames
- Behavioral: Taste Alteration Self-Assessment
- Behavioral: Taste Alternation Self-Management
Eligibility
Eligibility (as posted)
- Sex
- All
- Minimum age
- 18 Years
Show eligibility criteria text
Inclusion Criteria: * Medical diagnosis of cancer with types limited to the top cancer types \[Note: Cancer types that are rare will be excluded\] * Initiating chemotherapy (first day/first cycle) at participating clinics * English speaking/reading (without an interpreter) Exclusion Criteria: * Substitute decision-maker (activated) * History of head/neck cancer or irradiation * Known genetic/metabolic disorder impacting taste (preexisting dysgeusia) * Known eating disorder * Receiving enteral or parenteral nutrition (special nutritional needs) * Pregnant women (unique needs) * Patients with medical orders for end of life/hospice care
References
Publications (9)
- BACKGROUNDKano T, Kanda K. Development and validation of a chemotherapy-induced taste alteration scale. Oncol Nurs Forum. 2013 Mar;40(2):E79-85. doi: 10.1188/13.ONF.E79-E85. PMID 23448748
- BACKGROUNDKinjo T, Kanda K, Fujimoto K. Effects of a self-monitoring intervention in breast cancer patients suffering from taste alterations induced by chemotherapy: A randomized, parallel-group controlled trial. Eur J Oncol Nurs. 2021 Jun;52:101956. doi: 10.1016/j.ejon.2021.101956. Epub 2021 Apr 14. PMID 33940487
- BACKGROUNDAsano S, Sawatari H, Mentani H, Shimada Y, Takahashi M, Fudano K, Sasaki K, Niitani M, Tanabe K, Kataoka T. Taste Disorders: Effect of Education in Patients With Breast Cancer Receiving Chemotherapy. Clin J Oncol Nurs. 2020 Jun 1;24(3):265-271. doi: 10.1188/20.CJON.265-271. PMID 32441675
- BACKGROUNDBarlow LA. The sense of taste: Development, regeneration, and dysfunction. WIREs Mech Dis. 2022 May;14(3):e1547. doi: 10.1002/wsbm.1547. Epub 2021 Nov 30. PMID 34850604
- BACKGROUNDBraud A, Boucher Y. Taste disorder's management: a systematic review. Clin Oral Investig. 2020 Jun;24(6):1889-1908. doi: 10.1007/s00784-020-03299-0. Epub 2020 May 8. PMID 32385655
- BACKGROUNDButtiron Webber T, Briata IM, DeCensi A, Cevasco I, Paleari L. Taste and Smell Disorders in Cancer Treatment: Results from an Integrative Rapid Systematic Review. Int J Mol Sci. 2023 Jan 28;24(3):2538. doi: 10.3390/ijms24032538. PMID 36768861
- BACKGROUNDJoseph PV, Nolden A, Kober KM, Paul SM, Cooper BA, Conley YP, Hammer MJ, Wright F, Levine JD, Miaskowski C. Fatigue, Stress, and Functional Status are Associated With Taste Changes in Oncology Patients Receiving Chemotherapy. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2021 Aug;62(2):373-382.e2. doi: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2020.11.029. Epub 2020 Nov 28.