Current Issue : July-September Volume : 2026 Issue Number : 3 Articles : 5 Articles
Background/Objectives: Early detection and intervention are critical for improving outcomes in head and neck cancer. Although endoscopy is commonly used for screening, it requires specialist expertise and may cause patient discomfort. Therefore, there is a need for a simpler and less invasive screening method. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical feasibility of Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy-based exhaled breath analysis as a non-invasive screening tool for head and neck cancer. Methods: This singlecenter study was conducted at the Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, Showa Medical University. Outpatients with head and neck cancer (n = 10) and healthy controls (n = 14) were enrolled. Exhaled breath samples and ambient air surrounding the patient and lesion were analyzed using FTIR spectroscopy. Infrared absorption spectra were obtained, divided into 7667 discrete wavenumber points across the measured range, and compared between the patient and control groups. Results: FTIR spectroscopy revealed significant differences between patients and controls, with 2691 wavenumber points showing statistically significant differences (p < 0.05). Among these, the wavenumber at 3917.3 cm−1 showed a particularly strong difference (p = 0.00015). Receiver operating characteristic analysis demonstrated good discriminative performance, with an area under the curve of 0.929. The maximum Youden index was 0.829, with an optimal threshold of 0.234. Conclusions: FTIR-based exhaled breath analysis is a non-invasive and feasible approach for screening head and neck cancer. These findings suggest that this technique has potential clinical applicability as a screening tool and may also be extendable to the detection of other diseases....
The increasing shift of cancer care from inpatient to outpatient settings has substantially reshaped the psychosocial landscape of oncology nursing. While outpatient treatment models enhance efficiency and continuity of medical care, they also place greater responsibility on outpatient oncology nurses to identify and respond to patients’ psychological and social needs within time-constrained and fragmented clinical environments. This narrative review synthesizes current literature on the psychosocial dimensions of outpatient cancer nursing, with particular emphasis on the role of interprofessional collaboration in supporting psycho-oncology-oriented care. The review highlights that cancer patients receiving outpatient care commonly experience psychological distress, fear of recurrence, role disruption, and unmet emotional needs, which may remain under-recognized in routine clinical encounters. Outpatient oncology nurses occupy a pivotal position at the intersection of clinical treatment delivery, therapeutic communication, and psychosocial assessment, enabling early identification of distress and facilitation of supportive interventions. However, the effectiveness of psychosocial nursing care is strongly influenced by the structure and quality of interprofessional collaboration involving oncologists, psychologists, social workers, and palliative care teams. Drawing on psycho-oncology principles, this review emphasizes that psychosocial care in outpatient oncology should be conceptualized as a shared interprofessional responsibility rather than an individual nursing task. A psychosocially integrated conceptual framework is proposed to illustrate how nursing communication and collaborative care pathways interact to address patient needs across the outpatient cancer trajectory. Strengthening interprofessional collaboration, enhancing psychosocial competencies in nursing education, and embedding psycho-oncological perspectives into outpatient workflows are critical to improving patient well-being, care continuity, and quality of life....
Advances in cancer detection and treatment have led to a growing population of individuals living with cancer who increasingly experience complex comorbid conditions. Acute stroke represents a particularly disruptive event within this context, occurring against a background of heightened biological vulnerability, psychological distress, and treatment burden. Although cancer patients face an elevated risk of both ischemic and haemorrhagic stroke, the psychosocial consequences of acute stroke in this population remain insufficiently synthesised, particularly within emergency care settings. This narrative review integrates interdisciplinary evidence from oncology, neurology, psychology, and nursing to examine psychological distress, quality of life implications, and psychosocial care needs among cancer patients presenting with acute stroke, with a specific focus on the role of emergency nursing. Using a structured narrative review framework, findings indicate that acute stroke in cancer patients is associated with intense anxiety, fear, uncertainty, loss of control, and communication barriers, often compounded by time-pressured decision making in emergency environments. Stroke-related impairments further disrupt quality of life, social roles, and continuity of cancer treatment, while families experience substantial emotional and decisional burden. Emergency nurses occupy a critical position in recognising distress, facilitating communication, supporting families, and integrating psycho-oncological principles into acute care. This review highlights the need to move beyond a purely biomedical model of emergency stroke management toward a holistic, patient-centred approach that explicitly addresses psychosocial well-being. Embedding psycho-oncology within emergency nursing practice may improve patient experiences and support adaptive coping during one of the most vulnerable phases of the cancer trajectory....
Background: Nanoliposomal irinotecan (nal-IRI) plus 5-fluorouracil (5-FU)/ levo-leucovorin (Levo-LV) therapy is recommended as the standard of care for unresectable locally advanced (UR-LA) and metastatic pancreatic cancer after failure of gemcitabine-containing regimens. Although the concomitant administration of nal-IRI and Levo-LV benefits from a reduced hospital stay, nal-IRI is usually administered after Levo-LV owing to insufficient data on compatibility reactions. This study aimed to compare the safety and efficacy of the sequential and concomitant administration of nal-IRI and Levo-LV. Methods: Data of patients with UR-LA or metastatic pancreatic cancer who received nal-IRI plus 5-FU/ Levo-LV between 2020 and 2023 at Shizuoka Cancer Center were retrospectively collected. Patients were classified into the sequential administration group (Group S) and concomitant administration group (Group C) to compare adverse events, infusion time, and survival. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify independent prognostic factors in each group. Results: A total of 94 patients were included (44 in Group S and 50 in Group C). There was no significant difference in the incidence of Grade 3 or higher adverse events between the two groups. The median total infusion times for nal-IRI plus 5-FU/ Levo-LV in Groups S and C were 271 and 149 min, respectively (p < 0.001). Overall survival estimates were 5.6 months (95% confidence interval [CI] 3.78–8.57) in Group S and 8.4 months (95% CI 6.77–10.3) in Group C (unstratified HR 0.65, 95% CI 0.42–1.02; p = 0.058). In the multivariate analysis for PFS and OS, the method of administration was not identified as an independent prognostic factor. Concomitant administration of Levo-LV with nal-IRI may not increase adverse events or impact efficacy while reducing infusion time. Conclusion: Concomitant administration of Levo-LV with nal-IRI may not increase adverse events or impact efficacy compared to sequential administration....
Background In diseases requiring long-term treatment, such as cancer, the importance of holistic nursing support is increasing. Both foot massage and bed baths are holistic care methods that address patients' physical, emotional, and psychological needs, and research indicates they can effectively reduce symptoms like fatigue and sleep disturbances. Objective This study aims to evaluate and compare the effects of foot massage and bed baths on fatigue and sleep quality in hospitalized cancer patients. Method The research was conducted with hospitalized patients in the oncology clinic of a university hospital between April and November 2024, employing a three-group randomized controlled experimental design. The study included 39 cancer patients who were randomly assigned to three groups: Foot Massage (FM) (n = 12), Bed Bath (BB) (n = 12), and Control (n = 15). The treatments were administered for four consecutive days, two hours before bedtime, with each session lasting 30 min. The control group received routine care without additional interventions. Data was collected using the Patient Information Form, the Brief Fatigue Inventory (BFI), and the Richard Campbell Sleep Questionnaire (RCSQ), through five repeated measurements. Results Before the interventions began, there were no significant differences between the groups in terms of fatigue or sleep quality. Regarding the BFI scores, on days three (p < .05) and four (p < .001) the FM group demonstrated lower mean scores compared with both the BB group and the control group. On day five, the BFI scores of the FM group and the BB group remained lower than those of the control group, and this difference reached statistical significance (p < .001). Regarding the RCSQ scores, starting from day three, the FM group exhibited significantly higher mean scores than the control group (p < .05 and p < .001). From day four onward, the BB group also demonstrated significantly higher RCSQ scores compared with the control group (p < .001). No significant differences were observed between the FM and BB groups regarding the RCSQ (p > .05). Conclusion These findings suggest that foot massage and bed baths serve as effective supplementary nursing interventions for reducing fatigue and improving sleep quality in hospitalized cancer patients. Clinical trial number NCT06373614. Trial registration ClinicalTrials. gov Registry (NCT 06373614) in April 2024....
Loading....