BackgroundThe purpose of this study was to examine the effect of mental clinical nursing pathways on suicidal ideation and life quality of patients with malignant tumors.MethodsTwo hundred patients with malignant tumors were randomly divided into a study group and a control group, with 100 patients in each group. During the treatment, patients in the study group received mental clinical nursing pathway care, while those in the control group were given the usual nursing care, such as timely inspection, nurse’s reactions to patient’s behavior, and execution of medical orders. Thereafter, the “self-rating idea of suicide scale” and Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS) were used to compare the differences in the suicidal ideation of patients with malignant tumors between the two groups before and after the treatment.ResultsThere were no statistical differences in the scores of despair factor, optimistic factor, sleep factor, and cover factor between the two groups before the treatment (P>0.05). After different styles of nursing, the former four factors of patients in the study group were significantly lower than those in the control group (P<0.01), while there were no significant differences in the score of cover factor between the two groups (P>0.05). The KPS of patients receiving mental clinical nursing pathway care was higher than those receiving usual nursing care, and there was a statistical significant difference between the two groups (P<0.01). Interestingly, the patients’ suicidal ideation scale was negatively correlated with KPS (r =−0.29, P<0.05).ConclusionFor individuals diagnosed with a malignant tumor, using a mental health clinical nursing pathway can effectively decrease the degree of suicidal ideation and positively impact the quality of life.