Research Progress on Lung Cancer Patients' Sense of Meaning of Life

Objective As a malignant tumor with high incidence and low survival rate, lung cancer is often accompanied by a serious impairment of patients' sense of meaning of life in the diagnostic and treatment process, which in turn affects their psychological health and quality of life. Methods In this paper, we systematically review the research progress on the sense of meaning of life in lung cancer patients, and analyze it from five aspects: conceptual connotation, assessment tools, current characteristics, influencing factors and intervention strategies. Results The study showed that the sense of meaning of life can effectively alleviate patients' negative emotions and improve their ability to cope with the disease through the regulation of psychological resilience, the enhancement of social support, and the implementation of targeted interventions (e.g., meaning therapy, life review). Currently, international research focuses on psychological intervention pathways, but domestic research is still in its infancy, and there is a lack of localized assessment tools and evidence-based intervention protocols, especially in the lung cancer population. Influencing factors include demographic characteristics (age, marital status), disease characteristics (stage, comorbidities), psychological resilience, and social support networks. Conclusion In the future, interdisciplinary research should be strengthened to develop culturally appropriate interventions for Chinese patients, which will provide a theoretical basis for the implementation of spiritual care in clinical settings and help to realize the goal of whole-person care for cancer patients under the "Healthy China" strategy.