title: Umami taste dysfunction in patients receiving radiotherapy for head and neck cancer.
abstract: Taste loss is a major cause of morbidity in patients undergoing head and neck irradiation. Previous studies have reported the alteration of the four basic tastes in patients with head and neck cancer during radiotherapy. However, only a few studies have been conducted on the effects of irradiation on the function of umami taste, a novel and basic taste recently recognized. In a prospective study, 52 patients undergoing radical head and neck irradiation were assessed for taste loss. Taste ability was measured by the taste threshold for umami quality using the whole-mouth taste method in patients before, during, and immediately after radiotherapy. Umami taste declined of the 3rd week after the start of radiotherapy and improved of the 8th week.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, University of Tokyo Hospital, Bunkyou-ku, Tokyo, Japan. yamashitah-rad@h.u-tokyo.ac.jp
authors.forename: Hideomi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yamashita
authors.forename: Keiichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nakagawa
authors.forename: Yoshio
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hosoi
authors.forename: Azusa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kurokawa
authors.forename: Yusuke
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Fukuda
authors.forename: Ichiro
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Matsumoto
authors.forename: Takumi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Misaka
authors.forename: Keiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Abe
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D013280:Stomatitis / Q000209:etiology; D013649:Taste / Q000528:radiation effects*; D013651:Taste Disorders / Q000209:etiology*; D013652:Taste Threshold / Q000528:radiation effects; D014987:Xerostomia / Q000209:etiology