Correlation research between fear of disease progression and quality of life in patients with lung cancer.

BACKGROUND: Lung cancer has the highest incidence rate and mortality rate of all malignancies. In recent years, the therapeutic effect of lung cancer has been greatly improved, but the fear of disease progression still directly affects the quality of life (QOL) of patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the factors affecting the progression of fear of disease and its impact on the quality of life in patients with lung cancer. METHODS: From December 2019 to February 2020, 102 patients with lung cancer in the Department of Thoracic Oncology of a top three hospital were investigated by using the simplified fear of disease progression scale (FoP-Q-SF) and the quality-of-life scale for cancer patients (FACT-G). Data were collected and statistically analyzed by SPSS25.0 software. RESULTS: A total of 110 questionnaires were distributed and 102 valid questionnaires were recovered, indicating a recovery rate of 92.7%. The results of multiple stepwise regression analyses showed that blood group, monthly income, and mood state were the influencing factors for the progression of phobic diseases in cancer patients (P<0.05), and the score of progression of phobic disease was negatively correlated with the quality-of-life score (r=-0.382). CONCLUSIONS: The progress of phobic diseases in patients with lung cancer seriously affects their QOL, and further attention by medical staff in providing health education, psychological counseling, social support, and other measures is required.

Transcription factor CDX2 up-regulates proto-oncogenic miR-744 via a promoter activation mechanism in non-small-cell lung cancer.

BACKGROUND: The role of caudal-related homeobox 2 (CDX2) in the pathogenesis of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the mRNA (message RNA) expression of CDX2 in NSCLC, and to determine its relationship with miR-744 (microRNA744) and its potential as a biomarker of NSCLC. METHODS: MiR-744 is overexpressed in A549, H460, and H1299 cell lines. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used to detect the mRNA expression. A chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) essay was performed to determine the CDX2 binding sites. We then conducted a luciferase reporter essay to analyze interaction between MiR-744 and 3'UTRs (the 3' untranslated sequences). The migration and Boyden chamber method were used to study cell mobility. RESULTS: In this study, we found that ectopic CDX2 increased the expression of miR-744, while the attenuation of CDX2 reduced the expression of miR-744 by qRT-PCR. Chromatin immunoprecipitation experiments confirmed that CDX2 directly binds to the promoter of miR-744. The luciferase reporter assay further verified the binding sites of -347 to -358 bp in the most likely promoter like sequence of miR-744. CDX2-induced up-regulation of miR-744 can significantly promote the migration and invasion of NSCLC cells, while overexpression CDX2 is sufficient to rescue the migration and invasion capacity of these cells following knockdown of miR-744. CONCLUSIONS: In summary, our results confirmed for the first time the regulatory mechanism of CDX2 on miR-744 transcription and provided a potential mechanism for CDX2 as an oncogene in lung cancer.

Factors for peripherally inserted central catheters care delay in cancer patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has rapidly evolved into a global pandemic. The public health systems have consequently been placed under tremendous pressure. Peripherally inserted central catheters (PICCs) are widely used in patients with cancers. Little is known about the provision of PICCs care amongst cancer patients during this pandemic. METHODS: We studied 156 cancer patients with PICCs treated at the Cancer Center of the Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University between January 2020 and March 2020. Their clinical characteristics, social features, psychological characteristics, and PICCs care situations were analyzed. The chi-squared (χ2) test or Fisher's exact test were used for univariate analyses. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed using stepwise variable selection. Differences were evaluated using a two-tailed test, and P<0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Of 156 patients, 57 (36.5%) experienced delays of PICCs care, and 12 (21.1%) suffered from complications including infection, thrombosis, and mechanical failure. Univariate analysis detected that the increased risk of PICCs care delay was associated with older age (≥30), lower level of education (<9 years), working, taking public transport to the hospital, anxiety about COVID-19, lower social support rating scale (SSRS) score (<30). Multivariate analysis detected level of education, being employed or not, mode of transport, and SSRS score were independent predictive factors for the delay in PICCs care. CONCLUSIONS: Physical aspects, social factors, and psychological status commonly influenced patients' health care seeking behaviors such as PICCs maintenance. An increase in effort is required from patients' families and society to assure optimal care for cancer patients during this pandemic.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on lung cancer patients.

BACKGROUND: The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) poses an unprecedented challenge to health and epidemic prevention system, especially the healthcare of patients with cancer. We sought to study the impact of COVID-19 on lung cancer patients in our center. METHODS: We initiated a retrospectively study to analyze the impact of COVID-19 on lung cancer patients in our center, who were accepted for routine anticancer treatment before the epidemic and planned to return to hospital in January and February of 2020. RESULTS: A total of 161 cases of lung cancer were included in the final analysis. As of April 15, 95 patients had delayed their return visit, and 47 cases were finally designated as having delayed admission during the epidemic and having to discontinue or delay their regular anticancer treatments. Of these 47 delayed patients, 33 were evaluated for tumor status using a computed tomography scan, 6 of these 33 cases (18.18%) were diagnosed as progressive disease (PD), and 5 cases did not return for visit. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study investigating impact of COVID-19 on non-COVID-19 lung cancer patients during the pandemic. The study demonstrates the significant impact of the COVID-19 crisis on oncological care, indicating the need for appropriate change of treatment decisions and continued follow-up and psycho-oncological support during this pandemic.

Research on the effect of health care integration on patients' negative emotions and satisfaction with lung cancer nursing activities.

BACKGROUND: Lung cancer is a clinical disease with multiple malignant tumors. Currently, it is difficult for patients to benefit from routine clinical nursing due to the lack of a pertinent and systematic approach. AIM: To investigate the effect of integrated nursing care on the negative emotions and satisfaction of lung cancer patients. METHODS: From January 2018 to December 2019, 92 patients with lung cancer were selected and divided into the study group and the control group; there were 46 patients in each group. The control group received routine nursing, and the study group received integrated medical care in addition to the care received by the control group. Negative emotions before and after the intervention, the self-management ability score after the intervention, family care burden after the intervention and nursing satisfaction after the intervention were measured in the two groups. RESULTS: After the intervention, the self-rating anxiety scale and self-rating depression scale scores in the study group were lower than those in the control group (P < 0.05); the scores for health knowledge, self-concept, self-responsibility and self-care skills in the study group were higher than those in the control group (P < 0.05); the scores for individual burden and responsibility burden in the study group were lower than those before the intervention (P < 0.05); and the nursing satisfaction in the study group (93.48%) was higher than that in the control group (78.26%, P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: An integrated nursing care approach for lung cancer patients can effectively relieve the patient's negative feelings, improve their self-management ability, help to reduce the burden of family care and improve patient satisfaction with nursing activities.

Randomized, self-controlled, prospective assessment of the efficacy of mometasone furoate local application in reducing acute radiation dermatitis in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinomas.

BACKGROUND: Acute radiation dermatitis (ARD) is a common adverse effect in patients undergoing radiotherapy. Mometasone furoate cream (MMF) was reported to significantly reduce ARD, especially in breast cancer. Clinically, ARD is more critical and more difficult to prevent in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) than in those with breast cancer, because a higher dose of radiotherapy is required in HNSCC cases. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of MMF local application on radiation dermatitis in patients with HNSCC. METHODS: HNSCC patients scheduled for bilateral radical radiotherapy to the neck with identical radiation doses were enrolled. One side of the neck skin (test groups) of the patients were randomized to apply a thin layer of MMF once a day from the date of first radiotherapy until either 2 weeks after end of radiotherapy or until the test side skin developed ARD lesions, while the other side of neck (control groups) didn't apply any medication. The severity of ARD was evaluated weekly by using the modified radiation therapy oncology group score, pain intensity, and itch stages. RESULTS: Forty-one patients (82 targets) were analyzed. There was a significant difference between the ARD scores on the test side and the control side. MMF reduced the stages of ARD when the radiotherapy dose was <6000 cGY (P = .01) but showed no improvement when the dose was ≥6000 cGY (P = .699). Compared to the control side, local application of MMF significantly reduced the itch and pain scores of the test side skin regardless of the radiotherapy dose and ARD stage (P < .001) during radiotherapy. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that MMF inunction after high-dose radiotherapy (>50 Gy) can prevent ARD, especially when the radiation dose is <6000 cGY.