Personality traits are associated with the development and severity of chemosensory alterations during chemotherapy: a longitudinal study

Purpose: Chemotherapy-induced sensory alterations are common and may negatively affect nutritional status, treatment adherence and quality of life in people with cancer. However, inter-individual variability in these alterations remains poorly understood. This study examined whether personality traits, food neophobia, disgust sensitivity, and sensitivity to reward, contribute to variability in self-reported sensory alterations during chemotherapy. Methods: A longitudinal study was conducted in 95 patients undergoing chemotherapy, assessed at baseline (T0) and after nine weeks of treatment (T1). Sensory alterations were measured using a modified version of the Chemotherapy-Induced Taste Alteration Scale, and personality traits were assessed with validated questionnaires. Changes over time were evaluated using repeated-measures analyses, while associations between predictors and outcomes were examined using ANCOVA and multivariable logistic regression models. Results: After nine weeks, the prevalence of self-reported sensory alterations increased across all domains (24–60%). Discomfort, nausea, phantogeusia/parageusia and general taste alterations were the most frequently reported symptoms. Personality traits were significantly associated with several outcomes. Food neophobia was positively associated with the likelihood of reporting general taste alterations. In contrast, sensitivity to reward was consistently inversely associated with phantogeusia/parageusia and nausea. Conclusions: Personality traits are associated with individual differences in chemotherapy-induced chemosensory alterations. Identifying at-risk patients may support targeted nutritional and behavioural interventions to improve treatment tolerance and well-being.