De Gustibus: time scale of loss and recovery of tastes caused by radiotherapy.

Purpose: To quantify the prevalence and distress of taste loss at different intervals after radiotherapy (RT) for head and neck cancer.

Materials And Methods: In four different groups of head and neck cancer patients (73 patients in total), taste loss and distress due to taste loss were evaluated by taste acuity tests and taste questionnaires. Group 1 (n=17) was analyzed prior to RT.