Clinical efficacy of paclitaxel in the treatment of mid-stage and advanced malignant gastric cancer, and effect of nursing interventions

Purpose: To investigate the clinical efficacy of paclitaxel combined with additional chemotherapy for mid-stage and advanced malignant tumors, and the benefits afforded by scientific nursing.
Methods: Patients with mid-stage and advanced gastric cancer were randomly divided into test and control groups. Control group was given intravenous chemotherapy (400 mg/m² fluorouracil and 2500 mg/m2 cisplatin) and nursed conventionally, while the test group was additionally treated with 80 mg/m² paclitaxel and underwent special scientific nursing. Clinical effects and changes in the rates of apoptosis and cell proliferation were recorded. The effect of applying scientific nursing on therapeutic outcomes was also evaluated.
Results: The overall rate of treatment effectiveness, clinical control rate, mean apoptosis and proliferation rates in the test group were 56.40, 92.30, (7.10 ± 3.17 and 28.70 ± 3.22 %, respectively, while, in the control group, the values were 38.50, 64.10, 25.40 ± 2.67 and 32.60 ± 2.93 %, respectively. The differences were all statistically significant (p < 0.05). In terms of nursing efficacy, the test group had a lower pain score and higher quality-of-life scores (Karnofsky performance status score) than control group. There was no significant difference in the incidence of adverse reactions between the two groups (p > 0.05).
Conclusion: Paclitaxel has a significant effect when used to treat mid-stage and advanced gastric cancer. Moreover, additional nursing not only enhances the therapeutic effect but also improves prognosis and quality-of-life.

Keywords
Paclitaxel; Mid-stage/advanced cancer; Gastric cancer; Nursing efficacy; Karnofsky performance status; Quality of life; Pain score