A time-course questionnaire survey using the chemotherapy-induced taste alteration scale (CiTAS) was conducted in patients with advanced urothelial carcinoma (UC) treated with systemic chemotherapy and/or immunotherapy. A total of 37 patients receiving systemic therapy with enfortumab vedotin (EV), platinum-based chemotherapy and immune checkpoint inhibitors were included in this study. No significant changes were observed in any of the CiTAS subscales during platinum-based chemotherapy and immune checkpoint inhibitor treatment, while EV therapy induced significant dysgeusia. Among 10 patients treated with EV, dysgeusia was associated with a substantial negative effect on the health-related quality-of-life domains, particularly global health status/QOL (mean ± standard deviation: 52 ± 19 in dysgeusia group vs 89 ± 13 in non-dysgeusia group) and mental component summary (47 ± 5.1 vs 53 ± 2.0). The fatigue symptom score was higher in the dysgeusia group at the post-third cycle of EV (47 ± 16 vs 15 ± 17). Severe dysgeusia can be induced by EV therapy, which is usually not observed in other systemic therapies for advanced UC.
Keywords: Chemotherapy; dysgeusia; enfortumab vedotin; patient reported outcome measures; urothelial carcinoma.