Fig. 1

Flowchart of patient selection and group allocation in the study. From an initial screening of 298 esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) patients, 274 were included in the final cohort after applying inclusion and exclusion criteria. The final cohort was randomized into two groups for the study: Conventional Nursing Group (n = 127) and 5 + Nursing Pain Management Group (n = 147)