Happy New Year, oncology nursing colleagues! When I enter a new year, I like to ponder all of the positivity that it can bring.
Essential biomarker testing technologies like next-generation sequencing are increasing our comprehension of cancer genetics and genomics. Biomarker testing results provide prognostic and predictive information about a tumor’s biology and growth to guide treatment decisions. Patients with cancer are turning to their oncology nurses to help them understand their complex test results and corresponding recommended treatment plans, yet many oncology nurses have minimal, if any, formal training in the area.
Regardless of residence, nearly 25% of patients with cancer overall miss at least 10% of the doses in their radiation treatment plans—but the implications on outcomes are far greater for patients living in rural areas than their urban counterparts, according to new research findings published in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics.
Whether by cigarette, pipe, cigar, or vaping device, tobacco use is a major risk factor for the development of many cancers; increases cancer mortality, risk of recurrence, and second primary cancers; adversely affects treatment outcomes for surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy; and affects other chronic health conditions. Initiating smoking cessation at the time of a lung cancer diagnosis improves overall survival by 30%–40%, yet 40%–50% of smokers continue to use tobacco after diagnosis.
Patients often report mixed feelings about “ringing the bell” to signify completion of their cancer treatment: It’s a joyous moment, but they may have underlying apprehension, too. And other patients may never have a chance to ring the bell if their cancer progresses despite receiving the best possible care.
On December 16, 2022, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved nadofaragene firadenovec-vncg (Adstiladrin®) for adult patients with high-risk, Bacillus Calmette-Guérin unresponsive, carcinoma in situ, non–muscle-invasive bladder cancer with or without papillary tumors.
Midterm elections occurring halfway through a U.S. president’s first cycle are a referendum on that administration’s policies. Unable to take out their frustrations directly with the country’s chief executive, voters historically punish the president’s party at the ballot box. Still, politics is about people, and political scientists discourage attempts to quantify reactions and unexpected results. November 2022’s realignment of the federal power structure was an expected outcome.
Overall survival among patients with non–muscle-invasive bladder cancer who are treated with adjuvant gemcitabine and docetaxel is comparable to overall survival for treatment with bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG), researchers reported in the Journal of Urology. The evidence could support a treatment alternative for high-risk patients during the BCG shortage.
More than 40% of adult patients with mismatch repair deficient recurrent or advanced endometrial cancer had an overall response receiving dostarlimab-gxly (Jemperli), and more than 90% of those lasted six months or longer during the drug’s clinical trials. Those results led the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to grant the agent its original accelerated approval in 2021 for the indication. FDA expanded the accelerated approval later that year to include all recurrent or advanced solid tumors with dMMR demonstrated through an FDA-approved diagnostic test.
On December 14, 2022, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved updated labeling for capecitabine tablets (Xeloda®) under Project Renewal, an Oncology Center of Excellence (OCE) initiative aimed at updating labeling information for certain older oncology drugs to ensure information is clinically meaningful and scientifically up to date. Capecitabine is the first drug to receive a labeling update under the pilot program.