On July 21, 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved pembrolizumab (Keytruda^®) in combination with lenvatinib (Lenvima^®) for patients with advanced endometrial carcinoma that is not microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) or mismatch repair deficient (dMMR), who have disease progression following prior systemic therapy in any setting, and are not candidates for curative surgery or radiation. 

Fifty years ago, President Richard Nixon delivered his third State of the Union address to the U.S. Congress, boldly outlining audacious goals with major federal funding attached. Seeking $100 million for what he deemed “the war on cancer,” Nixon pledged his commitment to invest federal resources in the fight against cancer.

On July 19, 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reported Pfizer’s voluntary recall of two lots of varenicline 0.5 mg tablets, two lots of varenicline 1 mg tablets, and eight lots of a varenicline kit of 9.5 mg/1 mg tablets to the patient level because of the presence of N-nitroso-varenicline, a nitrosamine, above the Pfizer-established acceptable daily intake level. Varenicline is a treatment to help patients quit smoking and is intended for short-term use. To date, Pfizer has not received any reports of adverse events that have been related to the recall.

On July 1, 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reported Teva Pharmaceuticals’ June 30, 2021, voluntary recall of lot 31328962B of topotecan injection 4 mg/4 ml. The recall was based on a report that a single vial contained a glass particle, a grey silicone particle, and a translucent, colorless cotton fiber.

Prescription overdoses and addiction rates have dramatically increased in the United States since 2012, with more than 70,000 deaths attributed to the abuse of fentanyl, opioids, cocaine, and methamphetamine in 2019, a 35% increase since 2015. Addressing drug misuse is a top priority for the Biden-Harris administration, as well as researching systematic inequities in the country’s approach to criminal justice and prevention, treatment, and recovery.

This September, the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) will host the second annual ONS Bridge™, the premier virtual conference that connects oncology nurses to resources and education covering two themes: care coordination and updates in therapy.

A protein called AMBRA1 may be to blame for tumor resistance to CDK4/6 inhibitors, according to results from international teams of researchers that were reported in Nature.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is “committed to continuing to advance the science around COVID-19, moving more vaccines into more communities—especially those communities most at risk for COVID-19 infection—and working to improve health equity,” CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, MD, MPH, said during a March 2021 U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) hearing.

Randi is a 57-year-old patient who identifies as female. She was diagnosed with clear cell metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC), and her past medical history includes mild hypertension managed with amlodipine and a two-year history of transient musculoskeletal pain managed with tramadol. She reports a family history of cardiovascular disease and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Her primary care physician suspects Randi is at the beginning stages of fibromyalgia but has not made a conclusive diagnosis because she hasn’t experienced additional symptoms.

On July 16, 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved belumosudil (Rezurock^TM), a kinase inhibitor, for the treatment of chronic graft-versus-host disease (chronic GVHD) in adult and pediatric patients 12 years and older after failure of at least two prior lines of systemic therapy.