Background: The coronavirus disease 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.

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.

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Metal nanoparticles, synthesized using phyto-constituents, are one of the most economical and environmentally friendly materials. Biogenic zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs) obtained from Arisaema triphyllum plant extract were synthesized and characterized using UV-visible spectroscopy, XRD, TEM, and EDX. The presence of various plant extracts and the zinc oxide capping of ZnONPs was confirmed using UV-visible spectroscopy, further confirming the existence of ZnO in the 400–430 nm region based on its specific surface plasmon resonance. XRD patterns showed ZnONP-centered cubic crystalline assembly, while electron microscopy showed that the formation of spherical ZnONPs varied from ∼10 nm to 15 nm in diameter. Strong ZnONPs bands were established, as verified by EDX. The anticancer properties of ZnONPs prepared with different extracts were evaluated using esophageal cancer cells. High levels of anticancer activity against the two esophageal cancer cell lines, EC109 and TE8, were observed. The morphological changes of the esophageal cancer cells were evaluated using AO-EB and nuclear staining biochemical methods. Hemolysis assays with human erythrocytes showed excellent bio-compatibility with ZnONPs. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to report the use of A. triphyllum-loaded biogenic ZnONPs against esophageal cancer cells.

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 (χ 2 )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.