Response to letter to the editor titled: A matter of taste: making the distinction between taste and flavor is essential for improving management of dysgeusia

Abstract

Dear Editor, I appreciate the letter written by Boltong et al. titled A Matter of Taste: Making the Distinction Between Taste and Flavor is Essential for Improving Management of Dysgeusia. The authors accurately describe the important difference between taste and flavor and the fact that many of the papers that have been written on dysgeusia as a side effect of cancer therapy are, in fact, assessing taste sensitivity. These two processes are often confused with each other in the literature. Taste changes are complex and, as mentioned by the authors, linked to a number of other factors including olfaction, emotional state, and medical comorbidities. In order to advance our understanding of dysgeusia, definitions and validated assessment scales need to be agreed upon and so that more meaningful science can be conducted. In doing the systematic review, it was disappointing to discover the paucity of good research on this important side effect of cancer therapy.