Some cancer drugs disrupt taste by changing the cells inside taste buds, study shows

Phys · Apr 21, 2026 · 539 words · By David Kelly

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What to know about Some cancer drugs disrupt taste by changing the cells inside taste buds, study shows

Researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz have found that tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) used in cancer treatment can alter the composition of taste bud cells by blocking the KIT protein. This process reduces sweet-sensing cells and increases bitter and savory cells, potentially explaining the taste distortions experienced by some patients.

Propaganda risk 0%

Claims checked 10

Techniques found 0

Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center75%

Right25%

4 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Some cancer drugs disrupt taste by changing the cells inside taste buds, study shows Lisa Lock Scientific Editor Andrew Zinin Lead Editor Researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz may have identified why many cancer patients say food suddenly tastes…

Why it matters

The study, published today in Development, found that a class of targeted cancer drugs known as tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) can change how taste buds are maintained—reducing the ability to taste sweet foods and altering flavor perception overall.

Common ground

While the study was conducted in animal models, researchers believe similar changes likely occur in humans.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Follow-up questions

What concrete event or decision sits underneath the headline: Some cancer drugs disrupt taste by changing the cells inside taste buds, study shows?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that Drug treatment increased the number of cells that detect bitter and savory (umami) tastes?
What should readers watch for in the next update to know whether the story is changing?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://phys.org/news/2026-04-cancer-drugs-disrupt-cells-buds.html

analyticsAnalysis

Propaganda Score

confidence: 100%

Low risk. This article shows minimal use of propaganda techniques.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 10 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 7

info Single Source 1

verified Verified 1

help Insufficient Evidence 1

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Claim 1: “Drug treatment increased the number of cells that detect bitter and savory (umami) tastes”

SINGLE SOURCE

While the general shift in cell composition is mentioned, the specific increase in bitter and umami cells is only explicitly detailed in one comprehensive summary of the study results provided in the search results.

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web search NEUTRAL — In March 2025, the FDA approved cabozantinib (Cabometyx) for the treatment of people aged twelve years of age and older with previously treated, unresectable, locally advanced or metastatic, well-diff…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabozantinib

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web search NEUTRAL — May 1, 2026 · Cabozantinib is an antineoplastic (cancer) medicine. It interferes with the growth of cancer cells, which are eventually destroyed by the body. This medicine is available only with your …
https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements/cabozantinib-or…

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web search NEUTRAL — Aug 13, 2025 · Cabometyx is used to treat advanced kidney cancer, sometimes in combination with another medicine called nivolumab. Cabometyx is also used to treat liver cancer in people who have been …
https://www.drugs.com/mtm/cabozantinib.html

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Claim 2: “Drug treatment reduced the number of cells that detect sweet tastes”

CORROBORATED

Web results confirm that the drug treatment reduced the number of cells that detect sweet tastes.

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web search NEUTRAL — Here, we find that treating adult mice with the TKI cabozantinib shifts the fate of differentiating functional taste cell subtypes within taste buds. Through behavioral assays, we find this cell fate …
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12393395/

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web search NEUTRAL — Cabozantinib (Cometriq) has receieved a priority review designation from the FDA for patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) following progression on one prior therapy, according to Exelixis…
https://www.targetedonc.com/view/rcc-treatment-cabozantinib-…

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web search NEUTRAL — Furthermore, cabozantinib treatment attenuated the bone response to the tumor and resulted in increased normal bone volume. In summary, the expression pattern of cabozantinib targets in primary and ca…
https://www.academia.edu/113133206/Supplementary_Figure_Lege…

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Claim 3: “When KIT is blocked: Sweet-sensing cells fail to develop properly; Bitter/umami-sensing taste cells take their place”

CORROBORATED

Sources explain that blocking KIT prevents sweet-sensing cells from developing and allows bitter/umami cells to take their place.

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web search NEUTRAL — Sweet-sensing cells fail to develop properly. Bitter/umami-sensing taste cells take their place. The proportion of sweet and bitter taste bud cells is very tightly controlled. When this proportion is …
https://news.cuanschutz.edu/news-stories/some-cancer-drugs-d…

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web search NEUTRAL — The team discovered that sweet-sensing taste cells survive nerve injury thanks to a protein called c-Kit — and that these cells are essential for taste bud regeneration.
https://aijourn.com/korea-university-researchers-find-sweet-…

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web search NEUTRAL — This gut sensing leads to enhanced protein digestion signaling.Polyphenols and bitter alkaloids often bind to dietary proteins, forming complexes that: Prevent absorption. Reduce receptor interaction …
https://foodwrite.co.uk/food-composition-and-microstructure-…

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Claim 4: “Researchers identified an unexpected cause: a protein called KIT. While TKIs are used to block cancer growth pathways, they also unintentionally block KIT—an important regulator of taste cell development.”

CORROBORATED

The evidence confirms the study's title and findings regarding the inhibition of the protein KIT as the cause for the taste cell dysregulation.

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web search NEUTRAL — The study in Development is titled “Tyrosine kinase inhibitors affect sweet taste and dysregulate fate selection of specific taste bud cell subtypes via KIT inhibition.” The lead author is Christina M…
https://news.cuanschutz.edu/news-stories/some-cancer-drugs-d…

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web search NEUTRAL — MainText: Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) vie with RTKs ATP-binding site for ATP and hitherto reduce tyrosine. kinase phosphorylation, thus hampering the growth of cancer cells. TKIs can either be m…
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/338132889_Exploring…

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web search NEUTRAL — In woman’s breast cancer, tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKi) are used as a therapeutic option, by blocking the phosphorylation of the HER2 tyrosine kinase domain.
https://www.academia.edu/13678965/Tyrosine_kinase_inhibitors…

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Claim 5: “Mice lost their preference for sweet-tasting solutions”

CORROBORATED

The study results mention behavioral assays showing blunted responses to sweet tastants in mice treated with cabozantinib.

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web search NEUTRAL — The tyrosine kinase inhibitor cabozantinib showed striking responses in cancer clinical trial patients across several malignancies. Here we show that cabozantinib rapidly eradicates invasive, poorly-d…
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/305669001_Abstract_…

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web search NEUTRAL — Mice were treated with cabozantinib for the indicated times, and tumor metabolites extracted and subjected to mass spectrometry.Supplementary Figure 5: Cabozantinib treatment results in an acute incre…
https://www.academia.edu/113133206/Supplementary_Figure_Lege…

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web search NEUTRAL — The remaining mice were treated with vehicle, cabozantinib, MLN0128 or cabozantinib plus MLN0128 (combination group) for up to 3 weeks. Vehicle treated mice developed large tumours and were required t…
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8089119/

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Claim 6: “Using mouse models and lab-grown taste tissue, scientists studied the cancer drug cabozantinib and discovered: Taste buds as a whole were not damaged or reduced in number by drug treatment”

CORROBORATED

Two independent web sources explicitly state that in mouse models and lab-grown tissue, cabozantinib did not damage or reduce the total number of taste buds.

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web search NEUTRAL — Cabozantinib, sold under the brand names Cometriq and Cabometyx among others, is an anti-cancer medication used to treat medullary thyroid cancer, renal cell carcinoma, and hepatocellular carcinoma.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabozantinib

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web search NEUTRAL — The study was conducted using mouse models and lab-grown taste tissue to examine how one of these drugs, cabozantinib, affects taste at a cellular level. Researchers found that the total number of tas…
https://www.scienceofeating.com/p/why-some-cancer-treatments…

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web search NEUTRAL — Using mouse models and lab-grown taste tissue, scientists studied the cancer drug cabozantinib and discovered: Taste buds as a whole were not damaged or reduced in number by drug treatment. The compos…
https://news.cuanschutz.edu/news-stories/some-cancer-drugs-d…

verified

Claim 7: “Christina M. Piarowski et al, Tyrosine kinase inhibitors affect sweet taste and dysregulate fate selection of specific taste bud cell subtypes via KIT inhibition, Development (2026). DOI: 10.1242/dev.205259”

VERIFIED

The specific title, lead author (Christina M. Piarowski), journal (Development), and the core findings are explicitly confirmed in the web search results.

help

Claim 8: “an estimated 10% to 50% of patients taking these drugs experience taste changes, known as dysgeusia.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results regarding the specific percentage (10% to 50%) of patients experiencing dysgeusia.

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Claim 9: “The study, published today in Development, found that a class of targeted cancer drugs known as tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) can change how taste buds are maintained—reducing the ability to taste sweet foods and altering flavor perception overall.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple web search results confirm that a study published in 'Development' found TKIs (specifically cabozantinib) change taste bud maintenance, reducing sweet taste and altering flavor perception.

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web search NEUTRAL — Taste buds as a whole were not damaged or reduced in number by drug treatment. The composition of cells inside taste buds shifted. Drug treatment reduced the number of cells that detect sweet tastes.
https://news.cuanschutz.edu/news-stories/some-cancer-drugs-d…

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web search NEUTRAL — Kinase RIP3 is dispensable for normal NF-kappa bs, signaling by the B-cell...
https://www.tandfonline.com/journals/tmcb20

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web search NEUTRAL — Some medications may change your taste buds and alter your perception of taste. The most common medications that affect your sense of taste are angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, which are used…
https://www.healthline.com/health/dental-and-oral-health/tas…

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Claim 10: “The composition of cells inside taste buds shifted”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources confirm that cabozantinib treatment shifts the composition/fate of cells within the taste buds.

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web search NEUTRAL — The cellular underpinnings of this sensory alteration have remained elusive until now. Focusing on cabozantinib, a representative TKI, the research team employed mouse models alongside cultured taste …
https://bioengineer.org/study-reveals-how-certain-cancer-dru…

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web search NEUTRAL — Laurence Albiges, MD, PhD, from the Gustave Roussy Institute, Villejuif, France discusses the safety of cabozantinib treatment in metastatic renal cell carci...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSHc6GhHwmw

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.