Metallic Taste in Mouth During Cancer Treatment

The metallic taste cancer patients experience can happen for several reasons, including cancer and its treatment, oral health issues, and anything that affects your sense of smell. Some common causes include:

• Chemotherapy Medications: Cancer treatments can affect certain taste receptors or enter your saliva, lingering in your mouth after injection. Drugs known to cause this include cisplatin, carboplatin, cyclophosphamide, and doxorubicin.
• Radiation Therapy: Radiation to your head, neck, or mouth area can damage your taste buds and salivary glands, changing how you register flavours.
• Dry Mouth: Reduced saliva secretion is a frequent side effect of cancer treatment. Dry mouth makes food taste different and makes it harder to move around your mouth or swallow.
• Micronutrient Deficiencies: Low levels of zinc, iron, or vitamin B  can change the way food tastes.
• Other Medications: Drugs like antibiotics, pain medications, or steroids given during your treatment can also distort the way food tastes.
• Direct Tumour Effects: Tumours in your head or neck area can damage nerves and organs responsible for taste.

What Cancers Cause Metallic Taste in Mouth

Cancer can cause changes in taste or a metallic taste in your mouth. However, cancers in your mouth, throat, or digestive tract are more likely to do so. Cancers that require intensive chemotherapy also often result in taste changes. (2)

Taste changes can occur with many types of cancer, but they are particularly common in people receiving treatments that affect the mouth, head, neck, or gastrointestinal tract.

Chemotherapy and Metallic Taste

Chemotherapy, or cancer treatment with chemicals (drugs), is known to alter taste, among other side effects. Chemotherapy drugs can seep into your saliva (from your blood), causing a metallic taste in your mouth. They can also reduce saliva, making your mouth dry, or change how your taste buds work. (2)

Radiotherapy and Loss of Taste

Radiation affects the body cells it comes in contact with, resulting in some taste-related side effects. When beams of radiation hit your head, neck, or upper chest, they can damage your salivary glands and the taste buds on your tongue and in your mouth. (3) This can cause changes in taste that may improve gradually over time, although recovery varies between individuals.

Medications and Oral Health Issues

Other drugs can also cause changes in taste. These include medicines such as antibiotics, antifungals, and steroids, as well as some dietary supplements like iron. (4) Infections of the mouth can also contribute to a metallic or foul taste. (5) In situations of severe taste changes, consult your healthcare team for personalised support.

Taste changes during cancer and its treatment can affect your appetite and make eating less enjoyable. If this happens, focus on foods that you can tolerate and enjoy, even if they are different from your usual choices. Maintaining adequate nutritional intake is important during treatment. Talk to your doctor, dietitian, or healthcare team about any taste changes that are making it difficult for you to eat, as they can provide advice based on your individual needs. Continue reading for practical tips that may help you manage taste changes.

Recipes and Dietary Solutions 

Changing your recipes or diet can be a good start when chemo or another treatment makes your food taste bad or metallic. (8) Some people prefer acidic flavors, especially when they don’t have any mouth sores. You may consider these options:

• Use seasonings, herbs, and spices to enhance flavours; try ginger, mint, pesto or different spice blends such as Moroccan or Indian with foods that taste bland.
• Add sauces, syrups, or use marinades, particularly if you have a dry mouth.
• Experiment with stronger flavours like citrus (lemon), pickled foods, or add vinaigrettes or dressings.
• Eat cold foods instead of warm or hot if the smell is off-putting.  Cold foods don’t taste or smell as strongly as hot foods.
• If sweet foods taste better, try serving mango chutney or apple sauce or cranberry sauce or sweet chilli sauce with meals.  Try slices of apple with cheese or high-protein yoghurt with sweet fruit compote or jam. 
• Consider high-protein snacks like yoghurt.

Restoring Taste in Food

Here are a few tips to improve the flavour of your meals: 

• Eat cold foods instead of warm or hot ones.
• Add sauces, syrups and marinades.
• Avoid metallic utensils. Metals can change the taste of food. (10) Consider using cookware made from other materials such as wood or bamboo.
• Avoid foods that suddenly start tasting bitter or those that taste especially awful.

Restoring Taste in Water

Sometimes during chemotherapy or radiation therapy, water can taste metallic or unpleasant. You need to stay hydrated, so avoiding water is not an option. Adding fruit or cucumber slices to your water, or drinking herbal tea or sparkling water can improve taste and make it easier to stay hydrated. Experiment with hot, warm, room temperature, cool or iced drinks to see which is best for you.