Feasibility study on combination chemotherapy using nogitecan hydrochloride (topotecan) and cisplatin for patients with metastatic, persistent, or recurrent uterine cervical cancer

Influence of the Clinical Nursing Pathway on Nursing Outcomes and Complications of Cervical Carcinoma Patients Undergoing Chemotherapy via PICC

Background

Cervical Carcinoma (CC) is the second most common cause of death in women, with most patients being diagnosed at an advanced stage. The conventional treatment for CC, with a long chemotherapy treatment cycle, is less than satisfactory and will cause serious damage to the patient's blood vessels.

Objective

To analyze the impact of the clinical nursing pathway (CNP) on the incidence of complications and adverse prognosis in patients undergoing chemotherapy for CC via peripherally inserted central catheters (PICC).

Materials and Methods

This study enrolled 157 CC patients who underwent PICC chemotherapy in the Shaanxi Provincial Cancer Hospital between March 2017 and April 2020 and assigned them between the two groups according to different nursing interventions. Ninety-three patients treated with CNP intervention were included in the research group (RG), and sixty-four cases treated with the routine nursing intervention were included in the control group (CG). The self-care ability and intervention satisfaction of patients were assessed using the self-care ability scale and the intervention satisfaction questionnaire, respectively, both developed by our hospital. The complication rate was observed in both cohorts, and the adverse prognosis of patients was statistically analyzed. Finally, an assessment was made on the patients' quality of life (QOL) using the quality of life questionnaire core 30 (QLQ-C30).

Results

Higher scores of self-management information, catheter nursing ability, self-care compliance, and abnormal situation management were determined in RG after the nursing intervention. RG also outperformed CG in the overall incidence rates of complications and poor prognosis. Moreover, RG presented statistically higher nursing satisfaction and QLQ-C30 scores than CG after the nursing intervention.

Conclusion

CNP has a significant nursing effect on patients with CC treated with PICC chemotherapy, which can not only reduce the incidence of postchemotherapy complications but also improve patient prognosis, satisfaction, and life quality, with the value for clinical promotion.

Protease-activated nanomaterials for targeted cancer theranostics

Cancer metastasis accompanies irreversible proteolysis. Malignant cells that abnormally express extracellular proteases usually lead to a poor outcome during cancer progression. The development of protease-activated drugs is an important goal. Moreover, the specific proteolytic mechanism can be used as a diagnostic strategy. Currently, nanotechnology for use in medication has been extensively developed to exploit the physical and chemical properties of nanoparticles. For example, to improve the efficacy of cancer therapy drugs, targeted delivery has been attempted by combining a targeting ligand with a nanoparticle. Multifunctional nanoparticles have been prepared for cancer therapy and diagnosis because of their advantages such as stable physical properties, drug carrying ability and potential specific targeting ability. In this review, we present reports on protease-activated nanoparticle design for cancer theranostics. We further describe recent protease-activated metalloprotease-based and cathepsin-based nanomaterials used in cancer nanotheranostics. Innovative protease-activated nanomaterials have significant potential for designing personalized treatment.