ArticleSupportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer2021
Smell and taste function in childhood cancer patients: a feasibility study.
Article in Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 22 citations in OpenAlex.
- The influence of pediatric cancer treatment on taste perception and food hedonics: a systematic review.Nutrition reviews · 2024Pooled it
- Specialized Nutrition Products in Pediatric Medical Care: Clinical Applications, Formulation, Regulation, and Future Directions.Nutrients · 2026Review
- Delayed diagnosis of anorexia nervosa following childhood cancer treatment: a case report and literature review.Journal of eating disorders · 2026Article
- Determining the sweet detection threshold of COVID-19 patients during infection and recovery periods.PloS one · 2024Article
- Oral Manifestations: A Warning-Sign in Children with Hematological Disease Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia.Hematology reports · 2023Review
- The impact of changes in taste, smell, and eating behavior in children with cancer undergoing chemotherapy: A qualitative study.Frontiers in nutrition · 2022Article
- Taste Dysfunction in Children-A Clinical Perspective and Review of Assessment Methods.Chemical senses · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeChemotherapy can affect smell and taste function. This has never been investigated in childhood cancer patients during chemotherapy. The objective of this study was to determine whether psychophysical smell and taste tests are suitable for children with cancer. Taste and smell function, fungiform papillae density, and eating behavior were measured before (T1) and after (T2) a cycle of chemotherapy and compared with healthy controls.
methodsThirty-one childhood cancer patients treated for a hematological, solid, or brain malignancy (median age 12 years, 16 girls), and 24 healthy controls (median age: 11 years, 10 girls) participated. Smell function was measured using Sniffin' Sticks, including a threshold, discrimination, and identification test. Taste Strips were used to determine recognition thresholds for sweet, sour, salty, and bitter taste. Papillae density was investigated by counting the fungiform papillae of the anterior tongue. Eating behavior was assessed using the Behavioral Pediatrics Feeding Assessment Scale (BPFAS).
resultsSmell and taste function could be investigated in more than 90% of the patients, while fungiform papillae density could be determined in 61% of the patients. A significant difference in smell threshold was found between patients and controls (p = 0.001), showing lower thresholds in patients. In patients, sweet taste (p < 0.001), bitter taste (p = 0.028), and total taste function (p = 0.004) were significantly different after a cycle of chemotherapy, with higher scores at T2.
conclusionThe assessment of smell, taste, and fungiform papillae density is feasible in children with cancer. Results of the current study suggest that smell and taste sensitivity increased in children with cancer.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.