Symptom groups in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma with chemoradiotherapy:a scoping review
SHI Yu
ZHAO Xinyi
WANG Jing
Abstract：Objective: To comprehensively integrate the research on symptom clusters in patients with nasopharyngeal cancer after radiotherapy and chemotherapy, aiming to provide valuable references for symptom management in these patients. Methods: Computerized retrieval of relevant literature from The Cochrane Library, PubMed, CINAHL, EMbase, Web of Science, CNKI, Wanfang Database, VIP Database, and China Biomedical Literature Database. Data from included studies were extracted and analyzed synthetically. The search period was from the establishment of the databases to July 8, 2024. Results: A total of 10 articles were included, extracting 11 symptom clusters in patients with nasopharyngeal cancer during radiotherapy and chemotherapy. The identification elements of symptom clusters covered symptom assessment and analysis methods. The most prominent symptom cluster before radiotherapy and chemotherapy was fatigue-related symptoms. The gastrointestinal symptom cluster was most prominent during the early stage of treatment. The oral mucosal symptom cluster was most prominent during the middle and late stages of treatment. The stigma-related symptom cluster was most prominent after treatment ended. Conclusion: Multiple symptom clusters appear in patients with nasopharyngeal cancer during radiotherapy and chemotherapy, and they show dynamic changes. Subsequent studies can further explore specific symptom evaluation methods for nasopharyngeal cancer and combine them with advanced analytical methods such as machine learning to gradually improve the ability to identify symptom clusters and explore the establishment of an accurate symptom cluster management model.
Keywords：nasopharyngeal carcinomaradiotherapychemotherapysymptom groupnursingscope review
Publication Date：2025-06-10
Online Publishing Date：2025-08-15(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：6( 2211-2216 )