More than a decade ago, the National Academy of Medicine first proposed that “all patients should be given a comprehensive summary and a clear explanation of the details of their cancer therapy as well as recommendations for necessary follow-up.” This seemingly simple task has proved difficult to deliver in many cancer care settings.
On October 3, 2017, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced updates to three final guidance documents, including Form FDA 3926 and its instructions, to simplify Institutional Review Board (IRB) review requirements for physicians seeking to treat an individual patient with an investigational drug under expanded access. The updates allow for a waiver of the requirement for review and approval at a convened IRB meeting if the physician instead obtains concurrence by the IRB chairperson (or a designated IRB member) before treatment use begins.
In an effort to build a comprehensive catalog of genetic causes of cancer, researchers from Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Broad Institute as well as Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have identified more than 760 genes that cells from multiple types of cancer depend on for growth and survival. The findings were published in Cell.
Preventing a cancer diagnosis is the most surefire way to survive it. However, the public and news media communicate more about emerging treatments and newly approved oncology drugs and less about ways people can take steps to prevent cancer before it starts. Oncology nurses have a role and obligation to spread public health education and an attention to disease prevention, so many Americans change risky habits that would otherwise lead to future cancer diagnoses.
Estimates suggest that 30% of all cancers are preventable through lifestyle changes and vaccinations. We know that tobacco accounts for 90% of all lung cancers and contributes to increased risk for head and neck cancers. It’s also well known that sun exposure is associated with increased incidence of basal and squamous cell skin cancers, as well as the most dangerous skin cancer, melanoma.
Twenty-five years ago, you could be flying at 39,000 feet and still be inhaling cigarette smoke. Smoking’s pervasiveness in U.S. culture was far and wide, and it wasn’t until cancer research findings—coupled with public policy and healthcare education—that the dangers of smoking caught on with the general public. Since then, smoking rates have declined.
On September 28, 2017, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved abemaciclib in combination with fulvestrant for women with HR-positive, HER2-negative advanced or metastatic breast cancer with disease progression following endocrine therapy.
In clinics and oncology floors across the country, IV pumps are infusing, chemotherapy is administered through IV push, and nurses are moving swiftly from one patient to the next. Administering chemotherapy is a complex, in-depth procedure that requires training, education, and a level of experience beyond that of the standard healthcare professional. However, even the best oncology nurses need the support of their team members and the administration to provide the safest possible care environments for their patients.
Cancer treatment options continue to multiply as 2017 continues, with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granting multiple new drug approvals and broadening indications for others. Oncology clinicians and nurses are challenged with staying abreast of treatment option expansions and navigating the dynamic field of cancer treatment to effectively navigate their patients through the treatment trajectory, educating on vital points relative to treatment, minimizing morbidity and mortality, and optimizing quality of life.
Researchers have discovered a protein that may lead to a new way to prevent resistance and improve outcomes for patients whose cancers have a BRCA2 mutation. The findings were reported in Molecular Cell.