Oral, Chemosensory and Trigeminal Functions in Allo-HSCT

Oral, Chemosensory and Trigeminal Functions in Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation - a Prospective Cohort-study

The goal of this prospective, cohort study is to learn about smell, taste and trigeminal dysfunction in patients receiving allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). The research team hypothesizes that treatment with allo-HSCT will induce:

• Distortion of taste and smell and trigeminal functions like cooling, tingling, and burning sensations.
• Reduced saliva production leading to oral dryness and dental caries.
• Changes in the connectivity of the taste-, smell- and pain-cortical brain regions.

Participants will undergo various tests:

• Smell function assessment with Sniffin' Sticks.
• Taste function assessment with Taste Strips.
• Oral trigeminal function assessment with von Frey filaments .
• Salivary assessment with the Summated Xerostomia Inventory-Dutch questionnaire.
• Salivary flow will be measured using salivary flow rate - stimulated whole saliva (SWS).
• A clinical oral examination will be done to obtain a Clinical Oral Dryness Score.
• Qualitative smell, taste and trigeminal dysfunction will be assessed using a questionnaire.
• Radiological and clinical examinations will be performed to evaluate dental and oral mucosal status.
• Quality of life using questionnaire.
• Nutritional status using questionnaire.
• Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain will be taken to capture regions-of-interest for the three different networks of interest; (i) the gustatory network reflecting changes in taste perception, (ii) the olfactory network, related to the changes in smell, and (iii) the pain matrix reflecting pain.

There will be a comparisons between the patients and healthy controls.

Inclusion Criteria:

• patients receiving myeloablative conditioning for a first-time allo-HSCT and diagnosed with either a leukemia or a myelodysplastic syndrome

Exclusion Criteria:

• disorders affecting the oral cavity including poor tooth-status
• those using drugs affecting the gustatory/olfactory functions
• those with brain disorders
• those who have a chronic disorder affecting the immune system, have cancer or who are pregnant.