Attempts to prevent dysgeusia through the prophylactic use of zinc sulfate or amifostine have been of limited benefit .
Nutritional counseling may be helpful to some patients in minimizing the symptoms of dysgeusia .
Conclusions Dysgeusia is a common oral side effect of cancer therapy ( radiotherapy , chemotherapy , or combined modality therapy ) and often impacts negatively on quality of life .
From the current literature , there does not appear to be a predictable way of preventing or treating dysgeusia
Purpose The purpose was to review relevant scientific papers written since 1989 which focused on the prevalence and management of  dysgeusia as an oral side effect of cancer treatment .
Neoadjuvant Docetaxel before Radical Prostatectomy in Patients with High-Risk Localized Prostate Cancer
Purpose : To determine the clinical , pathologic , and molecular effects of neoadjuvant docetaxel chemotherapy in high-risk localized prostate cancer . Experimental Design : Patients with biopsy Gleason scores of 8 to 10 , serum prostate-specific antigen levels > 20 ng/mL , and /or clinical stage T3 disease received weekly docetaxel ( 36 mg/m2 ) for 6 months , followed by radical prostatectomy , and were monitored with weekly visits , serum prostate-specific antigen measurements , and endorectal magnetic resonance imaging ( MRI ) . Frozen tumor specimens were collected for microarray analysis . Results : The 19 patients enrolled received 82 % of the planned chemotherapy .  Toxicity was mild to moderate ; fatigue and taste disturbance were common . Prostate-specific antigen declines of > 50 % were seen in 11 of 19 patients ( 58 % ; 95 % confidence interval , 33 - 80 % ) and endorectal MRI showed maximum tumor volume reduction of at least 25 % in 13 of 19 patients ( 68 % ; 95 % confidence interval , 47 - 85 % ) and at least 50 % in 4 patients ( 21 % ; 95 % confidence interval , 6 - 46 % ) . Sixteen patients completed chemotherapy and had radical prostatectomy ; none achieved pathologic complete response . Microarray analysis identified coordinate up-regulation of genes involved in and rogen metabolism associated with docetaxel therapy . Specifically , RNA expression for genes that decrease cellular levels of bioactive and rogens was coordinately increased in response to chemotherapy . Conclusions : Neoadjuvant docetaxel administered for 6 months before radical prostatectomy is feasible , well tolerated , and often results in prostate-specific antigen declines of > 50 % and decreased tumor volume on endorectal MRI . No pathologic complete responses were observed . Altered and rogen metabolism may partially account for the noted declines in prostate-specific antigen and be a mechanism for chemotherapy resistance
Attempts to prevent dysgeusia through the prophylactic use of zinc sulfate or amifostine have been of limited benefit .
Nutritional counseling may be helpful to some patients in minimizing the symptoms of dysgeusia .
Conclusions Dysgeusia is a common oral side effect of cancer therapy ( radiotherapy , chemotherapy , or combined modality therapy ) and often impacts negatively on quality of life .
From the current literature , there does not appear to be a predictable way of preventing or treating dysgeusia
Purpose The purpose was to review relevant scientific papers written since 1989 which focused on the prevalence and management of  dysgeusia as an oral side effect of cancer treatment .