Learned Taste Aversions in Children Receiving Chemotherapy

Abstract

Children with neoplastic diseases were offered an unusual ice cream before their drug treatments. Patients experiencing gastrointestinal toxicity due to the drugs were subsequently less likely to choose that ice cream again than controls. This suggests that taste aversions induced by drug-associated symptoms may contribute to the appetite loss experienced by cancer patients.

Food preferences and aversions in human health and nutrition: how can pigs help the biomedical research?

“…These taste alterations, which decrease the hedonic value of food, are another cause of nausea or vomiting in these patients (Lé vy et al, 2006;Bernhardson et al, 2007) The conditioned aversions to food and beverages developed after chemotherapy or radiotherapy might explain the loss of appetite and the decreased energy intake recorded in some cancer patients (Bernstein, 1978). The detrimental consequences of this malnutrition are diverse: poor prognosis, morbidity, decreased quality of life and clinical management of patients, but also anorexia (Bernstein, 1978;Andreyev et al, 1998;Berteretche et al, 2004). Taste changes, which are among the most common chemotherapy-associated side effects (Ravasco, 2005), are not only distressing for patients and impact on their quality of life (Epstein et al, 1999 and2002;Ohrn et al, 2001), but also lead to food aversions and reduced food intake (Ravasco, 2005).…”

“…nausea and vomiting) that may lead to the establishment of food aversions and ultimately to clinical anorexia and cachexia (Bernstein, 1978). Cancer patients under chemotherapy often show avoidance or aversion for a meal taken before the administration of treatment, because the meal is associated with therapyinduced malaise (Bernstein, 1978), which acts like a CS. Moreover, patients often complain about these symptoms before the infusion.…”

“…Moreover, a reduction in taste sensitivity (hypogeusia), an absence of taste sensation (ageusia) or a change in taste sensitivity (dysgeusia) often occurs in patients receiving radiotherapy against cancers (Ripamonti et al, 1998;Berteretche et al, 2004). These taste alterations, which decrease the hedonic value of food, are another cause of nausea or vomiting in these patients (Lé vy et al, 2006;Bernhardson et al, 2007) The conditioned aversions to food and beverages developed after chemotherapy or radiotherapy might explain the loss of appetite and the decreased energy intake recorded in some cancer patients (Bernstein, 1978). The detrimental consequences of this malnutrition are diverse: poor prognosis, morbidity, decreased quality of life and clinical management of patients, but also anorexia (Bernstein, 1978;Andreyev et al, 1998;Berteretche et al, 2004).…”

Radial-maze learning by lines of taste-aversion-prone and taste-aversion-resistant rats

“…For humans, individual differences in taste-aversion (T A) conditionability may modulate the effectiveness of nausea-based consummatory aversion treatments of alcohol and drug dependence (Elkins, 1980(Elkins, , 1991. Additionally, individual differences in CT A propensities may influence cancer patients' development of aversions to foods consumed in association with chemotherapy-induced nausea (Bernstein, 1978).…”

“…For humans, individual differences in taste-aversion (T A) conditionability may modulate the effectiveness of nausea-based consummatory aversion treatments of alcohol and drug dependence (Elkins, 1980(Elkins, , 1991. Additionally, individual differences in CT A propensities may influence cancer patients' development of aversions to foods consumed in association with chemotherapy-induced nausea (Bernstein, 1978).The rat has been advanced as a useful T A learning model of nausea-based consummatory aversion therapies (Elkins, 1980;Logue, 1985). In an attempt to clarify possible genetic contributions to individual differences in T A learning propensities, Elkins (1986) undertook a program of CT A-based bidirectional selective breeding of SpragueDawley-derived rats.…”