Chef-led taste centers provide an accurate and integrated transmural approach to chemotherapy-induced dysgeusia in adult cancer outpatients

Introduction: Taste changes are common during chemotherapy. Currently, limited evidence-based guidelines exist for the effective management of chemotherapy induced dysgeusia in adult cancer outpatients. In this study, chefs gastro-engineering combine medical and para-medical assessments with innovative insights from gastrological sciences such as selective taste management to improve the taste of bread for cancer outpatients. Method: The oncologists from the participating hospitals referred eligible patients to a chef-led taste center. The chef gastro-engineering carries out a taste assessment and combines these results with the food preferences of the patient as well as any advice of the dietician and/or the speech therapist to develop personalized recipes, in this case a recipe for personalized bread. The patients were asked to bake and consume this personalized bread at home, with the help of their family caregiver. The effects of this innovative self-care intervention were measured after 1 month follow-up. Results: Included patients (N=112) are randomly divided in a bread-baking (intervention) group (N=54) and a control group (N=58). Over 80% of the bread baking patients perceived personalized bread as equally or more tasteful than usual bread despite their stressful chemotherapy-induced dysgeusia. After one month follow-up a significant loss of bodyweight (p .021) and Body Mass Index (p .025) is observed in the control group while in the bread-baking group this loss was not significant (p .968 and p .956 respectively). Only 17% of the bread baking group required some telephone or online assistance in order to correctly apply their personalized recipe. In-depth Interviews with the patients and their caregivers revealed the highly empowering effect of this innovative self-care intervention. In 60% of the cases, the bread was prepared by the family caregiver. Compliance was high and no side effects were reported. Conclusion: A chef-led taste center appears to be able to accurately and safely address the ...