A first-of-its-kind antibody-drug conjugate for multiple myeloma, belantamab mafodotin-blmf (Blenrep) received accelerated approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in August 2020. The approval was based on clinical trial findings that demonstrated a 31% overall response rate that lasted at least six months in 73% of responders.

Ron, your 73-year-old patient, decides to transition to hospice care after receiving lung cancer treatment for three years. His partner finds Ron’s decision to move to hospice difficult to accept and encourages him to look for a clinical trial or try alternative treatments. You suggest that the couple speaks with a hospital chaplain, and Ron agrees. His surprised partner says, “Why do you want to talk with a chaplain? We’ve never been religious!”

Unbearable levels of stress, burnout, frustration, disappointment, and even fear are plaguing today’s healthcare providers more than ever before. But for oncology nurses, moral distress and compassion fatigue have always been in the background when caring for patients with a serious illness.

Most nurses have not received formal training in quality improvement (QI) methodology, and many workplaces lack the resources to efficiently implement evidence-based practice (EBP), which results in delays in translating science into practice. But ONS members are overcoming those barriers and leading the way in effectively developing, implementing, and sustaining practice changes.

Initially marketed in April 2020 for treatment of adults with metastatic triple negative breast cancer, sacituzumab govitecan-hziy (Trodelvy^®) received an additional approval in 2021 for the treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer with prior treatments.