The effect of oral cryotherapy on taste alteration, appetite level, risk of malnutrition and quality of life in patients undergoing chemotherapy - A randomized controlled trial

Q: What was the purpose of the study on oral cryotherapy?

To evaluate whether oral cryotherapy can improve chemotherapy-induced taste alteration, appetite, nutritional risk, and quality of life.

Q: How was the randomized controlled trial designed?

Sixty-five outpatient chemotherapy patients were assigned to an intervention group receiving oral cryotherapy plus standard care or a control group receiving standard care only.

Q: What were the key results of oral cryotherapy compared with standard care?

Compared with controls, the oral cryotherapy group had significantly lower taste alteration and discomfort, higher appetite, and better overall quality of life, with nutritional markers such as albumin and total protein remaining stable.

Sep 19, 2026

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Purpose: Evaluate the effect of oral cryotherapy on chemotherapy-induced taste alteration, appetite, nutritional risk, and quality of life in outpatient cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. Methods: A randomized controlled trial with 65 participants assigned to oral cryotherapy plus standard care versus standard care alone, using validated scales including CITAS, SNAQ, MUST, and EORTC QLQ-C30. Results: Oral cryotherapy reduced taste alteration and discomfort, increased appetite and quality of life, and stabilized albumin/total protein versus declines in controls. Conclusion: Oral cryotherapy is an effective supportive care approach, with high protocol adherence but intensive regimen, warranting larger multi-center confirmation.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryGeneral

FormatPDF

Pages12

Reading Time4 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Background on chemotherapy side effects and taste alteration

Purpose, Methods, Results, and Conclusion

European Journal of Oncology Nursing 79 (2025) 102991 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect European Journal of Oncology Nursing journal [homepage:](homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ejon)[ www.elsevier.com/locate/ejon](homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ejon) | The effect of oral cryotherapy on taste alteration, appetite level, risk of malnutrition and quality of life in patients undergoing chemotherapy: A randomized controlled trial | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Zeynep Pehlivan Ko¨ksal a,b,* , Nesrin Nuralc , Og˘uzhan Kesend
a Karadeniz Technical University, Instıtute of Health Sciences, Department of Nursing, Trabzon, Turkey b Recep Tayyip Erdo˘gan University, Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Nursing, Rize, Turkey c Karadeniz Technical University, Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Nursing, Trabzon, Turkey d Recep Tayyip Erdo˘gan University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Rize, Turkey | | | | | A R T I C L E I N F O | | A B S T R A C T | | | Keywords: Appetite Chemotherapy Malnutrition Oral cryotherapy
Taste alteration Quality of life | | Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of oral cryotherapy on chemotherapy-induced taste alteration, appetite, nutritional risk, and quality of life in patients undergoing chemotherapy.
Methods: A randomized controlled trial was conducted with 65 patients receiving outpatient chemotherapy. Participants were assigned to an intervention group (oral cryotherapy plus standard care) or a control group (standard care only). Data were collected using validated tools, including the Chemotherapy-Induced Taste Alteration Scale (CITAS), the Simplified Nutritional Appetite Questionnaire (SNAQ), the Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST), and the EORTC QLQ-C30.
Results: Compared with the control group, patients receiving oral cryotherapy reported significantly lower levels of taste alteration and discomfort, alongside higher appetite and overall quality of life scores (p < 0.05). Nutritional markers such as albumin and total protein remained stable in the intervention group, while they declined in controls. These results suggest that oral cryotherapy may both alleviate taste-related symptoms and help maintain nutritional status during chemotherapy.
Conclusion: Oral cryotherapy was found to be an effective method for reducing the severity of chemotherapyinduced taste alterations and improving appetite and overall quality of life. Adherence to the protocol was high (%94), though the regimen is intensive and may challenge feasibility in routine practice. These findings highlight the potential of oral cryotherapy as a supportive care strategy, warranting confirmation in larger, multi-center studies. | | 1. Introduction Chemotherapy is the most widely practiced method of cancer treatment, from the past to the present, in which the tumor is treated with antineoplastic drugs (Temiz and Durna, 2020). These drugs can cause many problems, such as taste alterations, oral mucositis, anorexia, malnutrition, and anxiety, by destroying healthy cells that proliferate as fast as cancer cells (Fu et al., 2022). Taste alteration is one of the most prevalent symptoms in patients undergoing chemotherapy. The related studies have reported that the prevalence of taste alteration in patients undergoing chemotherapy ranges between 20 % and 85 % High rates are associated with patients diagnosed lung, breast, gynecological cancer and with cisplatin, docetaxel, paclitaxel, 5-Fluorouracil and cyclophosphamide group agents, which are more commonly used in these cancer types (Epstein et al., 2019; Ug˘ur et al., 2022). This widespread prevalence is associated with the fact that taste cells are highly proliferative cells and are adversely affected by the cytotoxic effect of chemotherapy (Drareniet al., 2021; Spotten et al., 2017). Taste alteration brings along many problems, such as loss of appetite, weight loss, and malnutrition in

FAQs

What was the purpose of the study on oral cryotherapy?

To evaluate whether oral cryotherapy can improve chemotherapy-induced taste alteration, appetite, nutritional risk, and quality of life.

How was the randomized controlled trial designed?

Sixty-five outpatient chemotherapy patients were assigned to an intervention group receiving oral cryotherapy plus standard care or a control group receiving standard care only.

What were the key results of oral cryotherapy compared with standard care?

Compared with controls, the oral cryotherapy group had significantly lower taste alteration and discomfort, higher appetite, and better overall quality of life, with nutritional markers such as albumin and total protein remaining stable.

Sep 19, 2026

Upload by Rizky