The U.S. Senate confirmed the appointment of Arati Prabhakar, PhD, as director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and chief advisor to the president for science and technology in September 2022, making her the first woman and person of color confirmed to lead OSTP.

Few things carry more stigma in the United States than death and hospice. Death is familiar in oncology, yet providers may not discuss it with patients until their cancer has progressed to the point that medical intervention is no longer an option. With the American Cancer Society estimating more than 600,000 American deaths from cancer in 2022, it’s time to change our practice.

Patients with germline genetic variants that increase their risk of developing prostate cancer have a lower risk of developing lethal disease when following a healthy lifestyle, according to study findings that researchers reported in European Urology.

On November 18, 2022, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a Monday-Wednesday-Friday dosing option for asparaginase erwinia chrysanthemi (recombinant)-rywn (Rylaze®). Under the alternative regimen, patients receive 25 mg/m² intramuscularly on Monday and Wednesday mornings and 50 mg/m² intramuscularly on Friday afternoons. It also is approved at a dose of 25 mg/m² intramuscularly every 48 hours.

The holiday season is an opportunity to unwind, practice well-being, give thanks, and—this month in particular—acknowledge your gratitude for people, circumstances, items, and other things you value and appreciate in your life. Whether you’re celebrating in person or virtually, coming together and spending time with your loved ones is both exciting and overwhelming. Indulge a little, but support and prioritize well-being for both yourself and your loved ones with healthy renditions of your favorite or traditional holiday side dishes.

When the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved tebentafusp-tebn (Kimmtrak®) in January 2022 as an orphan drug for unresectable or metastatic uveal melanoma in adults, it became the first—and only, at the time of this reference sheet’s publication—drug approved for the indication.

In her first report as National Cancer Institute director, Monica M. Bertagnolli, MD, laid out her eight core principles to guide the agency’s work in reformulating clinical trials and strengthening cancer research during the Clinical Trials Advisory Committee meeting in November 2022.

Since the late 1990s, U.S. Congress has made a concerted effort to increase federal funding for the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH’s) biomedical research and clinical trials. Through rare but always bipartisan largess, legislative appropriators have seen the benefits of investing in the science for precision medicine; supporting genetic-grounded, patient-centered care; and changing the quality and longevity of life for millions of people, including those with cancer diagnoses.

On November 10, 2022, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved brentuximab vedotin (Adcetris®) plus doxorubicin, vincristine, etoposide, prednisone, and cyclophosphamide for pediatric patients aged two years and older with previously untreated, high-risk classical Hodgkin lymphoma. This is the first pediatric approval for brentuximab vedotin.

On November 14, 2022, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted accelerated approval to mirvetuximab soravtansine-gynx (Elahere®) for adult patients with folate receptor alpha–positive, platinum-resistant epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer, as detected with an FDA-approved test, who received one to three prior systemic treatment regimens. Mirvetuximab soravtansine-gynx is a FR alpha–directed antibody and microtubule inhibitor conjugate.