ASSESSING RISK FACTOR FOR DYSGEUSIA IN SYSTEMIC TREATMENT OF HEAD AND NECK CANCER: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

Abstract

Objectives To evaluate risk factors associated with dysgeusia in patients with head and neck tumors (HNTs) treated with chemotherapy. Study Design We performed a cross-sectional, retrospective, and quantitative study evaluating the incidence of dysgeusia by toxicity scale of the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events: (0) no change in taste, (1) change in taste without change in diet and (2) change in taste and change in diet. Clinical-sociodemographic and therapeutic approaches were evaluated by chi-square test and multinomial logistic regression (P < .05; SPSS 20.0). Results Of 486 patients, 140 presented dysgeusia (28.8%), 91 of which were grade 1 and 49 were grade 2. The most frequent chemotherapeutic agents in HNT were cisplatin (63.8%) and carboplatin (27.8%), and radiotherapy was performed in 94.7%. Radiotherapy (P = .017) and cisplatin (P = .001) were the risk factors for dysgeusia grades 1 and 2. In the multivariate analysis, cisplatin increased the risk of dysgeusia in grade 23.20 times (95% CI, 1.45-7.04). Conclusions Cisplatin is the greatest risk factor for dysgeusia in systemic treatment for HNT, which is important knowledge because the loss of taste increases the risk of cachexia. To evaluate risk factors associated with dysgeusia in patients with head and neck tumors (HNTs) treated with chemotherapy. We performed a cross-sectional, retrospective, and quantitative study evaluating the incidence of dysgeusia by toxicity scale of the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events: (0) no change in taste, (1) change in taste without change in diet and (2) change in taste and change in diet. Clinical-sociodemographic and therapeutic approaches were evaluated by chi-square test and multinomial logistic regression (P < .05; SPSS 20.0). Of 486 patients, 140 presented dysgeusia (28.8%), 91 of which were grade 1 and 49 were grade 2. The most frequent chemotherapeutic agents in HNT were cisplatin (63.8%) and carboplatin (27.8%), and radiotherapy was performed in 94.7%. Radiotherapy (P = .017) and cisplatin (P = .001) were the risk factors for dysgeusia grades 1 and 2. In the multivariate analysis, cisplatin increased the risk of dysgeusia in grade 23.20 times (95% CI, 1.45-7.04). Cisplatin is the greatest risk factor for dysgeusia in systemic treatment for HNT, which is important knowledge because the loss of taste increases the risk of cachexia.