Tastes can change, outcomes shouldn't
Addressing taste changes in patients with cancer with sensational flavours
Up to 70% of patients with cancer experience taste alterations1. This represents a high burden for patients with significant impact on patients' quality of life2.
Taste changes can contribute to malnutrition3-5, an important predictor of mortality, reduced tolerance to anti-cancer treatments and impaired quality of life6,7. Identifying and treating early signs of malnutrition with medical nutrition can improve outcomes in patients with cancer8-12.
Sensory alterations may include hypo- or hypersensitivity to taste or smells, or distortion of taste (dysgeusia)14,15. To compensate for taste changes, often patients describe the need for more intense taste stimuli by deliberately adding more spices, salt and ginger to their meals helping stimulate a sensory response; while others describe a need for less intense flavors4,16.
The trigeminal system17,18
The trigeminal somatosensory system plays a fundamental role in chemosensation and the overall “flavor” of foods
The trigeminal system is physiologically distinct from taste and smell, but is increasingly understood to be just as important as these senses for their contribution to flavor
Temperature and many chemical agents can stimulate chemo sensitive channels directly
As an example, hot chili pepper and menthol sensitizes the perception of temperature
FORTIMEL COMPACT PROTEIN includes a sensational range of five tailor-made flavors designed to support cancer patients with or at risk of malnutrition, struggling with sensory alterations.
- Cool Red Fruits
- Cool Coconut and
- Cool Cucumber Lime
- Neutral
- Hot Tropical Ginger
Contain specific menthol derivatives, which can activate the trigeminal nerve19. The Cool sensational flavors are particularly well-suited to patients who have a bad taste in their mouth, as menthol derivatives give a “fresh” taste.
Designed without additional sensory stimuli. It is particularly well-suited for patients who are hypersensitive to taste or smell and for patients with a metallic taste in the mouth.
Contains derivatives of hot chili pepper, which can also activate the trigeminal nerve20. This flavor is particularly well-suited for patients who find that everything is bland or tasteless, as the hot pepper and ginger flavours add interest via a “warm” taste.
Optimising the palatability and acceptability of ONS is important to support patient adherence to oral nutritional supplements. Compact protein sensational flavours have been demonstrated to be appreciated in cancer patients undergoing cancer treatments21,22.
