After former President Obama’s surgeon general was asked to resign by the Trump administration, the White House appointed Rear Admiral Sylvia Trent-Adams, PhD, RN, FAAN, as acting surgeon general.
With more than 15.5 million Americans living beyond cancer, it’s no surprise that more attention is being paid to survivorship than ever before. Once treatment ends, patients can be thrown back into a world after cancer with little or no attention paid to their concerns about recurrence, late effects from treatment, how to follow up with their future care, and a great many more unknowns.
On May 1, 2017, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted accelerated approval to durvalumab for the treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma who have disease progression during or following platinum-containing chemotherapy or who have disease progression within 12 months of neoadjuvant or adjuvant treatment with platinum-containing chemotherapy.
On April 28, 2017, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval to brigatinib for the treatment of patients with metastatic anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who have progressed on or are intolerant to crizotinib.
“Obamacare is the law of the land.” And thus ended the debate over repeal and replace of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), as Paul Ryan (R-WI), the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives left the podium Friday afternoon on March 24.
On April 28, 2017, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved midostaurin for the treatment of adult patients with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia (AML) who are FLT3 mutation-positive (FLT3+), as detected by an FDA-approved test, in combination with standard cytarabine and daunorubicin induction and cytarabine consolidation.
Imagine a situation where a patient’s tumor cells were used for countless scientific experiments—without the patient’s informed consent. Safeguards are in place today to prevent such an ethical breach, but in 1951 Henrietta Lacks and her family weren’t as lucky. Author Rebecca Skloot shared Henrietta’s story in a 2010 nonfiction book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, that was adapted into a movie released on April 22, 2017.
On April 27, 2017, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) expanded the indications of regorafenib to include the treatment of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who have been previously treated with sorafenib.
On April 25, 2017, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued warning letters to 14 companies that were selling fraudulently marketed products claiming to prevent, diagnose, treat, or cure cancer. In total, the companies produced more than 65 products that have been sold in the United States without FDA approval.