Dysgeusia increases the risk for death and other side effects during antineoplastic systemic treatment for solid tumors: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background Chemotherapy (CT) is a systemic treatment using a combination of antineoplastic drugs, orally or intravenously, that inhibit tumor growth and fast-growing normal cells. Due to its nonspecificity, chemotherapy can cause a series of adverse effects, such as altered taste (dysgeusia), associated with malnutrition and, consequently, other adverse effects in the gastrointestinal tract and increased mortality risk. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of dysgeusia on the incidence of other adverse effects and overall survival during antineoplastic chemotherapy. Material and Methods An observational, retrospective, cross-sectional study was conducted using data from the Electronic Health Record system of the Cancer Institute of Ceará over two years. Before the CT session, the multi-professional team evaluated the patient for the presence and severity of adverse effects (AE), using scores from the CTCAE v5.0 scale. Dysgeusia scores were collected and associated with clinical pathological data, with other adverse effects (nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, oral mucositis, anorexia, constipation), and with overall survival. Chi-square and Mantel-Cox log-rank tests were used. Results Of 5744 patients evaluated, dysgeusia presented a frequency of 50.6%, being directly associated with female gender ( p =0.001), overweight ( p =0.022), high tumor stages ( p =0.009), a combination of adjuvant and neoadjuvant ( p =0.010) and four-year survival ( p =0.030). Dysgeusia frequency was directly associated with diarrhea ( p <0.001), anorexia ( p <0.001), oral mucositis ( p <0.001), nausea ( p <0.001), constipation ( p <0.001) and vomiting ( p <0.001), and inversely associated with fatigue ( p =0.035). Conclusions Dysgeusia during CT increases the risk of other adverse effects and negatively impacts prognosis. Key words: Dysgeusia, chemotherapy, radiotherapy.