Learned food aversions among cancer chemotherapy patients. Incidence, nature, and clinical implications.

The current study documents the incidence of chemotherapy-related food aversions in defined patient populations and characterizes selected aspects of the problem. The association between the incidence of food aversions and patient outcome was also evaluated. Seventy-six primarily breast and lung cancer patients were interviewed before and at stipulated time points for 6 months after their initial course of chemotherapy. Learned food aversions (LFA) were documented via open-ended questionnaires and ratings for foods ingested during the 48-hour period surrounding the first day of treatment. Treatment-related aversions were observed in over 50% of the patients and involved all food groups. The aversions generally occurred shortly after the first course of chemotherapy, were food-specific and of short duration. No strong association was observed between the incidence of food aversions and treatment outcome measures, but quality of life issues warrant further consideration.