On November 10, 2022, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved tremelimumab (Imjudo®) in combination with durvalumab (Imfinzi®) and platinum-based chemotherapy for adult patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer with no sensitizing epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) variant or anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) genomic tumor aberrations.
In June 2021, I was at a crossroads in my career. I had been an oncology nurse practitioner for the past 14 years, and it was time to decide if I should retire as a provider. Yet I felt like I still had more to do and more patients to help. I was determined to make a difference for patients with cancer.
Nurses’ valuable insight can bring a new perspective to every industry. Extreme dedication, unique experiences, and essential problem-solving skills help nurses to create an impact locally and nationally, and decision-makers have learned that these healthcare professionals have a plethora of valuable insight that must be heard in boardrooms across the country.
Before poly (adenosine diphosphate-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors were approved for ovarian cancer, traditional treatment consisted of surgical cytoreduction and platinum-based chemotherapy with a taxane, with or without bevacizumab, depending on stage and type. With the surgery-chemotherapy combination, 70%–75% of patients had recurrence and overall five-year survival rates were 29%, indicating a need for additional therapies.
High levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and C-reactive protein before chemotherapy for breast cancer may predict a patient’s propensity to develop clinical decline and frailty after treatment, according to study findings that researchers reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
My passion for biomarkers lies in research, specifically clinical trials. The incorporation of biomarkers in oncology clinical trials has been an important advancement in research, and we’ve seen the effect on improving patient outcomes. Identification of pathogenic variants is essential to prescribing personalized therapy for patients with cancer.
Biomarkers, also called molecular markers or signature molecules, can help clinicians characterize alterations in tumors through the detection of specific DNA, RNA, protein, or metabolomic profiles. These pieces of the cancer puzzle are part of precision oncology that the cancer care team can use to assess patients’ cancer risk and prognosis or monitor disease progression. Biomarkers are also a key factor in determining and tailoring treatment methods and their likelihood of success.
November 7, 2022, is the 155th birthday of Maria Sklodowska, who is better known as Madame Marie Curie, one of the greatest minds of chemistry, physics, and radiation oncology. The day also marks the fifth anniversary of #WomenWhoCurie, a social media campaign from the Society for Women in Radiation Oncology that supports and increases visibility of women in radiation oncology.
Advocacy can mean many things to nurses, and the meaning may even change depending on your position and perspective. The dictionary definition is “the act or process of supporting a cause or proposal,” but being an oncology nursing advocate goes far beyond that. It’s about having a vision for something and not settling for the status quo. It’s about striving for the best in whatever that cause may be—our patients, the profession, or health care in general.
Four academic institutions will create centers of excellence dedicated to telehealth in cancer care to help healthcare providers increase its use in oncology practice, thanks to $23 million in National Cancer Institute (NCI) funding. The awards are part of NCI’s Telehealth Research Centers of Excellence initiative, which is supported by President Joe Biden’s Cancer Moonshot initiative.