Objective To explore the application effect of early palliative care program in patients with esophageal cancer undergoing radiotherapy.Methods Eighty-six hospitalized patients with esophageal cancer undergoing radiotherapy treated in He'nan Cancer Hospital from November 2015 to August 2016 were divided according to random number table into experimental group and control group, each with 43 cases. Patients in the control group were nursed according to conventional nursing method for esophageal cancer, while on this basis, palliative care was conducted to patients in the experimental group. After 2 months of nursing, treatment compliance, scores of Hamilton depression scale (HAMD), Hamilton anxiety scale (HAMA), and quality of life were compared between the two groups, as well as their hospitalization expenses.Results During the treatment, percentage of patients who cooperated positively, reluctantly and negatively in the experimental group was 62.8%, 27.9% and 9.3%, while in the control group 25.6%, 46.5% and 27.9% (t=4.123,P<0.05). After treatment, HAMA scores and HAMD scores in the experimental group were (11.63±4.28) points and (16.33±3.03), while in the control group (15.99±3.02) and (25.93±2.94) (t=2.374, 2.374;P<0.05); scores of life quality and hospitalization expenses in the experimental group were (102.37±5.93) points and (98264.47±3274.33) Yuan, while in the control group (84.34±7.44) and (121637.01±3927.03) (t=2.448, 2.592;P<0.05).Conclusions For patients with esophageal cancer undergoing radiotherapy, early palliative care program can reduce degree of anxiety, depression and hospital costs, and improve their quality of life.

Radiotherapy uses high-energy X-rays or other particles to destroy cancer cells and medical practitioners have used this approach extensively for cancer treatment (Hachadorian et al., 2020). However, it is accompanied by risks because it seriously harms normal cells while killing cancer cells. The side effects can lower cancer patients' quality of life and are very unpredictable due to individual differences (Bentzen, 2006). Therefore, it is essential to assess a patient's body damage after radiotherapy to formulate an individualized recovery treatment plan. Exhaled volatile organic compounds (VOCs) can be changed by radiotherapy and thus used for medical diagnosis (Vaks et al., 2012). During treatment, high-energy X-rays can induce apoptosis; meanwhile, cell membranes are damaged due to lipid peroxidation, converting unsaturated fatty acids into volatile metabolites (Losada-Barreiro and Bravo-Díaz, 2017). At the same time, radiotherapy oxidizes water, resulting in reactive oxygen species (ROS) that can increase the epithelial permeability of pulmonary alveoli, enabling the respiratory system to exhale volatile metabolites (Davidovich et al., 2013; Popa et al., 2020). These exhaled VOCs can be used to monitor body damage caused by radiotherapy.
Breath Tests/methods* ; Exhalation ; Humans ; Quality of Life ; Respiratory System/chemistry* ; Volatile Organic Compounds/analysis*