Treatment of taste alterations in chemotherapy patients using the “miracle fruit”: Preliminary analysis of a pilot study.

e19523 Background: Patients undergoing chemotherapy often complain of alterations of taste (dysgeusia), for which no conventional therapy exists. The African fruit Synsepalum dulcificum, or “Miracle Fruit” (MF), has been described as a powerful taste alteration product, converting sour to sweet taste. We conducted a single institution trial to assess whether the MF improves dysgeusia. Methods: Patients with a performance status of 2 or less, receiving cyclophosphamide, carboplatin, cisplatinum, gemcitibine, methotrexate, doxorubicin, 5-fluorouracil, paclitaxel, docetaxel, vinorelbine, oxaliplatin, irinotecan or etoposide were included in the study if they complained of dysgeusia. Patients were randomized in a crossover fashion to immediately receive the MF for 2 weeks (group A) or to receive the MF after 2 weeks of supportive measures alone (group B). Endpoints were: improvement in taste (study powered to detect 30% response with MF, as measured by the Wickham questionnaire), weight changes, and quality o...