Current opinion in supportive and palliative care
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Curr Opin Support Palliat Care · Dec 2008
ReviewAssessing alterations in taste and their impact on cancer care.
As the discipline of supportive and palliative cancer care grows, there is increasing acknowledgement of taste and smell alterations (TSAs) as barriers to nutrient intake and detriments to the food-related quality of life and well being of the population. The focus of this brief review is to summarize the recent advances regarding the cause and nature of TSAs and patients' perceptions of TSAs and to identify promising approaches for the alleviation of TSAs. ⋯ A variety of approaches to the assessment of TSAs continue to generate a description of the development, duration and recovery of distorted chemosensory perception in cancer patients. Attention to individual variation in the nature and severity of TSAs as well as nutritional support and focus on flavorful foods can enhance patients' well being and food-related quality of life.