The future of cancer care is here: precision medicine has led to many of today’s newest cancer treatments and has made incredible progress since former President Barak Obama first announced the U.S. Precision Medicine Initiative (PMI) in 2015.
Findings from two phase I clinical trials presented at the American Association for Cancer Research 2019 annual meeting indicate that targeting CAR T cells against mesothelin for advanced solid tumors and HER2 for advanced sarcoma is safe and shows clinical antitumor activity.
Because two oral therapies received new indications in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) most recent round of approvals, oncology nurses will want to focus on ways to manage patients in the home. Assessing oral adherence, encouraging patients to report adverse events, and ensuring their understanding of complex dosing regimens are critical components of nursing care. ONS offers an oral adherence toolkit and oral chemotherapy patient education sheets to help with patient management.
In a perpetual search to refine research and scientific advancements in the pursuit of fighting cancer, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is investing in research that will help practitioners further understand how treatments and combinations of treatments can benefit patients. Through a focus on precision oncology, researchers are examining which combinations of therapies would work best for each individual patient based on a number of factors, including genetics and genomics.
The advent of e-cigarettes and vaping mechanisms has shifted the dynamic of underage tobacco use for the first time in more than a decade. In fact, the U.S. surgeon general declared the situation a national epidemic. Known as e-cigs, vapes, e-hookah, vape pens, and electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), the mechanisms look similar to USB flash drives, pens, and other items not typically associated with tobacco consumption.
The House Appropriations Committee recently released its draft outline for the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education 2020 funding bill, allocating more than $189 billion in discretionary funding for education and training, medical research, and health care. The legislation includes funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), U.S Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 50 million Americans experience acute and chronic pain daily. Managing the pain is debilitating and costly, and the impact on the economy is felt through employment issues along with a heightened burden on the healthcare system.
Two U.S. senators from different parties, who hail from states with the largest and most successful tobacco crop, have come together to raise the national smoking age. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Tim Kaine (D-VA) have teamed up to cosponsor the Tobacco-Free Youth Act (S. 1541), a bill that would restrict the marketing, sale, and distribution of tobacco products to anyone under the age of 21. A similar bill, Tobacco to 21 Act (H.R. 2411), was introduced in the House by Diane Degette (D-CO).
Findings from two recent studies underscore that cancer vaccines may be a larger part of the next wave of novel cancer therapies. According to data presented at the American Association for Cancer Research 2019 annual meeting, vaccination with as few as four tumor antigens generated antigen-specific responses, reduced intestinal tumors, and improved survival in a mouse model of Lynch syndrome.