On October 29, 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval to asciminib (Scemblix®) for patients with Philadelphia chromosome–positive chronic myeloid leukemia (Ph+ CML) in chronic phase (CP) who were previously treated with two or more tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). FDA also approved asciminib for adult patients with Ph+ CML in CP with the T315I variation.
Leadership is a group activity, and the ONS vision, mission, and core values can be achieved only through full participation of ONS's Board of Directors and other groups. The volunteer members serving as directors-at-large meet at least monthly to achieve the annual objectives, and the Board’s subcommittees—as well as other standing committees of volunteer members outside of the Board—accomplish specific goals. ONS uses two key committees to achieve excellence, quality, and sustainability through leadership: the Board’s Positions Subcommittee and the Leadership Development Committee (LDC).
With a plethora of information available online, patients with cancer and their families have access to plenty of resources to learn more about their diagnosis and treatment options. However, one-third of the online articles about cancer circulating on social media contain incorrect information, according to findings from a 2021 study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Multimedia tools and resources can help patients learn more about a cancer diagnosis, treatment regimens, procedures, and follow-up care, among other important topics, and many institutions and organizations have jumped onto the bandwagon to create those resources for their patients. A new video series on gynecologic cancers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) adds another patient education resource to oncology nurses’ toolbox.
A balanced life allows us to function at our best. Our bodies do that naturally through homeostasis, a familiar term from nursing school, by self-regulating physiological processes to ensure equilibrium and optimal functioning. But our brains sometimes need help to self-regulate, and one way to do that is to practice silence. After a day of noise and action, silence and solitude can calm and restore you.
Tracking health workforce projections, such as supply and demand of healthcare professionals by discipline, and studying how funding, policies, and programs affect those levels, can “inform public policy to help prevent shortages and surpluses,” the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) announced in September 2021. To achieve that, HRSA created a new dashboard that uses projections from the National Center for Health Workforce Analysis, based on the Health Workforce Simulation Model (HWSM).
Using two agents that target two different receptors more than doubles length of survival for advanced melanoma than a single agent alone, researchers reported at the 2021 American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting.
Serving on the team that launched the Cancer Moonshot Initiative was just one of the many achievements in Francis Collins’, MD, PhD, 12-year tenure as the director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Collins announced in October 2021 that he is stepping down from his role by the end of 2021 after serving as NIH director for three presidential appointments, during which he advocated for increasing NIH’s research budget, learning more about the human genome, and developing treatments tailored to unique genetics.
A first-of-its-kind antibody-drug conjugate for multiple myeloma, belantamab mafodotin-blmf (Blenrep) received accelerated approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in August 2020. The approval was based on clinical trial findings that demonstrated a 31% overall response rate that lasted at least six months in 73% of responders.
All cells (healthy cells and tumor cells) in the body shed DNA, called cell-free DNA (cfDNA). When it’s only from tumor cells, it’s referred to as circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), although cfDNA and ctDNA are sometimes used interchangeably.