This small series describes patient-reported taste outcomes in 14 head and neck cancer patients treated with “tongue-out” radiation. Physically displacing the oral tongue anteriorly—about 20% ended up outside the mouth— substantially reduced mean dose to gustatory structures. Mean dose to oral tongue was reduced from roughly 30 to 13 Gy, with essentially no volume receiving ≥30 Gy, a threshold associated with taste bud injury. While the majority (86% severe or worse) still experienced dysgeusia, recovery was notably brisk: over half reported no-to-mild dysgeusia at one month, improving to 79% at three months and 93% by six months—essentially back to baseline. | Jong Kil, Pract Radiat Oncol 2025
