At-Home Taste and Smell Training for Cancer Patients Taking Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors A Multicenter Randomized Study Comparing Training to Standard Care

What this Trial Is About

Researchers are evaluating the impact of at-home taste and smell training compared to standard care in patients with cancer treated with tyrosine kinase inhibitors. This multicenter randomized intervention trial involves 12 hospitals in the Netherlands and aims to understand how this training affects taste function and other related outcomes over 12 weeks. The study uses a parallel cluster design to avoid bias by keeping treatment groups separate within each hospital. Participants are assigned to either perform taste and smell training at home or receive usual care without the training. Measurements are taken at baseline and after 12 weeks, including taste and smell tests, saliva collection, and online questionnaires completed at home. Dietitians contact patients every 3 weeks in both groups to support adherence and monitor progress. During the study, participants undergo assessments of taste and smell function, food enjoyment, quality of life, risk of malnutrition, dry mouth sensation, saliva secretion, and body weight. These evaluations occur at home or during regular hospital visits. The total duration for each participant is approximately 12 weeks, during which researchers track changes and safety related to the interventions.

The TASTY-training Study