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The Case of the Cord Blood Match

Clinical practice

The Case of the Cord Blood Match

Empower Recent Graduate Nurses to Be Patient Advocates

Nurse empowerment

Empower Recent Graduate Nurses to Be Patient Advocates

Shared Governance Committees Empower Nurses to Use Their Voice

Nurse empowerment

Shared Governance Committees Empower Nurses to Use Their Voice

Nursing Students Connect Beyond the Classroom With ONS Resources

Nursing education

Nursing Students Connect Beyond the Classroom With ONS Resources

COVID-19 Affects Cancer Caregivers, but Here Are Ways to Support Them

COVID-19 Affects Cancer Caregivers, but Here Are Ways to Support Them

February 19, 2021

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Adding MRI to PSA Detects More Prostate Cancers Than PSA Alone

Combining magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing allows clinicians to detect twice as many clinically significant prostate cancers than PSA testing alone, according to study results published in JAMA Oncology.

Muscle Quality Predicts Efficacy of NSCLC Immunotherapy

Patients with higher muscle quality during treatment with PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor monotherapy for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) had higher overall response rates and longer progression-free survival than patients with lower-quality skeletal muscle, researchers reported in study findings published in Cancer Medicine.

Cancer risk factors

Diabetes May Increase Hematologic Cancer Risk and Mortality

Having diabetes increases a person’s risk for developing leukemia, lymphoma, or multiple myeloma—and their risk for dying from the cancer should it occur, researchers reported in Diabetologia.

Cancer recurrence

Fear of Recurrence May Actually Contribute to Cancer Recurrence

Stress, such as fear and worry about cancer coming back or many other life burdens and concerns, may activate dormant cancer cells remaining in the body to form tumors again, researchers reported in Science Translational Medicine.

Cancer screening

Lung Cancer Screening Guidelines to Reduce Disparities May Increase Them Instead—But Risk Model Can Help

The draft 2020 U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) lung cancer screening recommendations were intended to increase the number of high-risk minorities eligible for lifesaving tests. And they do, but not as much as USPSTF anticipated, still leaving gaps and disparities, researchers reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. They created a risk model to augment the guidelines that eliminated the disparities for most racial groups.

Manage Adverse Events From PI3K Inhibitors for Breast Cancer

In 2019, PI3K inhibitors became a new treatment option for postmenopausal women and men with HR-positive, HER2-negative, PIK3CA-mutated, advanced or metastatic breast cancer with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval of alpelisib in combination with fulvestrant. Although alpelisib remains the only PI3K inhibitor approved today, others are in clinical trials, and the new class of agents has a unique safety profile.

Cancer research

U.S. Sees Another Record-Breaking Decrease in Cancer Deaths, but Disparities Remain

Cancer-related mortality fell by 2.4% from 2017–2018, the largest-ever one-year drop in cancer deaths and a continuation of the downward trend the United States has seen since 1991, the American Cancer Society (ACS) reported in Cancer Facts and Figures, 2021.

Medicaid Expansion Coincides With Earlier Colon Cancer Diagnosis Rates

U.S. states that adopted the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion in January 2014 have earlier colon cancer diagnoses, enhanced access to care, and improved colon cancer surgical care than states that didn’t implement the expansion, researchers reported in Journal of the American College of Surgeons. Additionally, patients in the expansion states were more likely to have minimally invasive procedures and fewer urgent surgeries.

February 24, 2021

Mortality Rates After Cancer Surgery Decrease, but Racial Disparities Remain

During the past 10 years, mortality rates after cancer surgery have improved by 0.12%–0.14%, depending on race, researchers reported in study findings published in JAMA Network Open. However, the gap between outcomes for Black and White patients remains, they found.

February 17, 2021

Targeted Radiation Reduces Pain From Spine Metastasis

Palliative radiation targeted directly to the tumor with stereotactic body radiation therapy eliminated metastatic pain in 33% of patients for six months compared to 16% with standard radiation therapy. Researchers reported the study findings at the American Society for Radiation Oncology annual meeting.

February 10, 2021

Nurse self-care

Pandemics Have Serious Psychological Implications for Nurses

Watching patients—or even colleagues—suffer or die, not being able to protect yourself with the right personal protective equipment, worry about exposing loved ones, and the challenge of balancing it all contribute to an immeasurable psychological burden for nurses and other healthcare professionals during a pandemic. Studies show that the effects are serious, leading to post-traumatic stress, anxiety, depression, and, in some cases, suicide among providers.

February 09, 2021

Even Short Treatment Delays Affect Cancer Outcomes

Delaying initiation of cancer treatment by just four weeks is associated with increased mortality rates for patients with seven types of cancers, regardless of treatment type, researchers reported in BMJ.

February 03, 2021

First-Time Smoking Age Increases Among Young Adults

Although overall smoking rates are decreasing among adolescents and young adults, a new trend is emerging: those who smoked their first cigarette between ages 18–23 increased from 21% in 2002 to 43% in 2018, researchers reported in JAMA Network Open. The increase in young adult first-time smokers comes at a time when smoking initiation rates are decreasing among younger teenagers.

January 27, 2021

Genetics & genomics

Genomics Provides Insight on Exceptionally Responding Patients

Patients with cancer who experience unexpected and long-lasting treatment outcomes are considered exceptional responders, but researchers and clinicians had no insight as to why the patients did so well with treatment. Results of a new study now show that genomic characterizations of cancer can uncover genetic alterations that may contribute to the phenomenon, researchers reported in Cancer Cell.

January 13, 2021

Clinical practice guidelines

Manage Cancer Treatment-Related Radiodermatitis With ONS Guidelines™

Painful skin reactions may develop in as many as 95% of patients receiving radiotherapy treatments for cancer. Patients report that it affects their quality of life and that purchasing interventions to soothe their skin increases their out-of-pocket costs. Supporting patients who experience the side effect is critical for their well-being.

January 12, 2021

Cancer research

How COVID-19 May Increase Access to and Reduce Disparities in Cancer Clinical Trials

To improve clinical trial availability, effectiveness, and diversity in the era of the COVID-19 coronavirus, National Cancer Institute (NCI)-funded clinical trials should adjust their design to increase use of telemedicine and remote informed consent, among other strategies, several NCI department leaders wrote in a commentary in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

January 06, 2021

Adding Nivolumab to Chemo Improves Survival for Advanced Gastric Cancer

First-line therapy combining nivolumab with chemotherapy improved median overall survival rates in patients with PD-L1-expressing gastric cancer by 3.3 months in a large international, multicenter trial. The findings were reported during the 2020 European Society for Medical Oncology virtual meeting.

December 30, 2020

Genomics May Trick PARP Inhibitors to Treat More Cancers

Turning on the body’s inflammasome with epigenetic therapy may improve the efficacy of PARP inhibitors across multiple tumor types, possibly expanding the therapy’s application to new cancers, researchers reported in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

December 23, 2020

Clinical practice guidelines

Manage Cancer Treatment-Related Constipation With ONS Guidelines™

As many as 43%–58% of patients with cancer experience constipation related to their treatment, and the side effect is both distressing and potentially life threatening if severe enough. Constipation-related emergency department visits increased by 41.5% from 2006–2011, with older adults (aged 85 years or older) making up most of the visits. Estimates suggest that the cost of managing severe cancer-related constipation may range from $500 to more than $2,300 per person per month. Supporting patients who experience the side effect is critical for their well-being.

December 08, 2020

NKT Cells May Be the Next Wave of CAR Therapy

When genetically modified with a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR), natural killer T (NKT) cells eliminated 50% of metastases in a patient with heavily pretreated, relapsed or refractory metastatic neuroblastoma, according to interim findings from an ongoing study that were published in Nature Medicine.

December 02, 2020

Cancer screening

Older Adults Are Being Overscreened for Cancer

Many older adults are continuing cancer screenings beyond the recommended upper age limits, which range from age 65–75 years depending on the type of cancer screening, researchers reported in JAMA Network Open.

November 25, 2020

Aspirin’s Cancer Benefits May Not Translate to Older Adults

Healthy older adults who take daily low-dose aspirin have increased risk of being diagnosed with advanced cancers and dying from cancer, according to findings from a new study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

November 18, 2020

Patients With Gynecologic Cancers Have Significant Fatigue After Surgery

Forty-eight percent of women with gynecologic cancers report experiencing clinically significant fatigue after surgery that may continue six months (44%) and one (39%) year later, researchers reported in study findings published in Cancer.

November 12, 2020

Clinical practice

Manage Cancer Treatment-Related Skin Toxicities With ONS Guidelines™

From chemotherapy to immunotherapy, many of today’s cancer treatments are associated with skin toxicities. Left unmanaged, they can affect patients’ activities of daily living, self-image, and overall quality of life and may lead to treatment disruptions, delays, or even discontinuation.

November 10, 2020

Cervical cancer

ACS Cervical Cancer Screening Guidelines Prefer HPV Over Pap Tests

People with a cervix who are aged 25–65 years should receive a human papillomavirus (HPV) test every five years, according to the new American Cancer Society (ACS) guidelines for cervical cancer screening.

November 04, 2020

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To discuss the information in this article with other oncology nurses, visit the ONS Communities.

To report a content error, inaccuracy, or typo, email pubONSVoice@ons.org.

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Elisa Becze BA, ELS, Editor

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