A dermatologist-performed total-body skin examination (TBSE) identifies more than two times the number of skin cancers than patients or other providers discovered, researchers reported in the International Journal of Women’s Dermatology. The cancers may otherwise have gone undiagnosed, leading to later-stage disease and poorer outcomes.

With the growth of genomics and targeted therapy, nurse scientists are gaining deeper understanding the vast facets of patients’ symptom experience, and biosignatures could be the key to unlocking the next frontier in symptom science research.

With a plethora of information available online, patients with cancer and their families have access to plenty of resources to learn more about their diagnosis and treatment options. However, one-third of the online articles about cancer circulating on social media contain incorrect information, according to findings from a 2021 study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

A balanced life allows us to function at our best. Our bodies do that naturally through homeostasis, a familiar term from nursing school, by self-regulating physiological processes to ensure equilibrium and optimal functioning. But our brains sometimes need help to self-regulate, and one way to do that is to practice silence. After a day of noise and action, silence and solitude can calm and restore you.

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.

All cells (healthy cells and tumor cells) in the body shed DNA, called cell-free DNA (cfDNA). When it’s only from tumor cells, it’s referred to as circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), although cfDNA and ctDNA are sometimes used interchangeably.

Bob is a 68-year-old patient with early-stage cancer of the glottic larynx (right true vocal cord). He is receiving a hypofractionated three-dimensional conformal therapy without concurrent chemotherapy, 225 cGy each day for five days a week to a total dose of 6,075 cGy. He is now in his fourth week of treatment at 4,000 cGy and experiencing side effects. His voice is a high-pitched whisper and talking requires a lot of effort. He reports pain when swallowing his favorite foods like nachos and has lost 2 kg since his last weight check four days ago. Bob also reports some dizziness with position changes, and his pulse and blood pressure screenings show that he’s mildly orthostatic.

On October 20, 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) amended the emergency use authorizations (EUAs) for the Moderna and Janssen (Johnson and Johnson) COVID-19 vaccines to allow for the use of a single booster dose for certain populations.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) screening may be beneficial for certain patients aged 75–85, according to findings from a new study. The researchers reported the results in JAMA Oncology.

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!”

An estimated 1%–2% of adults have one pathogenic ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) gene variant (heterozygous) and are considered carriers. People who are homozygous (two altered copies) have ataxia-telangiectasia (A-T), a hereditary condition that often appears in childhood and is characterized by progressive neurologic problems that lead to difficulty walking and an increased risk for developing various malignancies. Children with A-T may begin staggering and appear unsteady (ataxia) shortly after learning to walk.

On October 15, 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved atezolizumab (Tecentriq^®) for adjuvant treatment following resection and platinum-based chemotherapy in patients with stage II–IIIA non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with PD-L1 expression on ≥ 1% of tumor cells as determined by an FDA-approved test. 

To drive the advancement of our understanding of the human genome, the National Institute of Health (NIH) is providing $185 million in funding over the next five years, the agency announced in September 2021.

Much of the care we provide is complex and requires the contributions of many knowledgeable and experienced professionals. To satisfy the National Academy of Medicine recommendations of providing safe, timely, effective, efficient, equitable, and patient-centered care, healthcare professionals must function as highly collaborative teams.

On October 13, 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reported Teligent Pharma’s voluntary recall of five lots of lidocaine HCl topical solution 4% in a 50 ml screw cap glass bottle to the user level because the firm’s testing found it to be super potent based on an out-of-specification result obtained at the 18-month stability timepoint.

Legislators across the United States are recognizing what ONS has advocated for more than a decade: the need for improved access to and better understanding of palliative and hospice care. In September 2021, Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Representative Yvette D. Clarke (D-NY) voiced their support for palliative care through a letter to the U.S. Congress.

On October 13, 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved pembrolizumab (Keytruda^®) in combination with chemotherapy, with or without bevacizumab, for patients with persistent, recurrent, or metastatic cervical cancer whose tumors express PD-L1 (CPS ≥ 1), as determined by an FDA-approved test. 

On October 12, 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved abemaciclib (Verzenio^®) with endocrine therapy (tamoxifen or an aromatase inhibitor) for adjuvant treatment of adult patients with hormone receptor (HR)-positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative, node-positive, early breast cancer at high risk for recurrence and a Ki-67 score ≥ 20%, as determined by an FDA-approved test. This is the first CDK4/6 inhibitor approved for adjuvant treatment of breast cancer.  

Researchers have found that 2%–3% of all solid tumors overexpress or amplify HER2 protein that may be a target for drugs such as pertuzumab and trastuzumab, particularly in KRAS-variant disease. They presented their findings during the 2021 American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting.

We have an approximately 14- to 17-year gap between the inception of research discovery and the implementation of findings into clinical practice. As a profession, nurses have a shared responsibility to address the challenge of identifying and overcoming barriers to evidence-based practice (EBP) implementation to provide the best possible clinical care for patients. My primary area of focus as a researcher is on using EBP to improve patient, staff, and organizational outcomes through the Science and Practice Aligned Within Nursing (SPAWN) model, a framework for applying EBP to clinical nursing care.

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.

Bladder cancer is the sixth most common cancer in the United States, with an estimated 83,730 adult diagnoses in 2021. Smoking is the greatest risk factor (47% of all cases occur in smokers), followed by advancing age and sex (assigned males are four times more likely to develop bladder cancer than those assigned female). The incidence rate in White people is double that of Black people, but Black people are twice as likely to die from the disease.

Initially studied for its radioprotective effects on healthy cells, avasopasem may also increase cancer cells’ response to radiation treatment, researchers reported in Science Translational Medicine.

Evidence-based practice is dual sided: nurse scientists conduct research, and clinical nurses implement those findings into practice. Working together, they improve care by developing cancer survivorship programs, reducing cancer risk, and assessing cancer care in vulnerable populations. The University of Washington School of Nursing’s (UW SoN’s) partnership with Confluence Health, one of the largest healthcare providers in north central Washington, built a novel program to identify gaps in research and implementation and elicit projects that influence healthcare outcomes.

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.

On October 1, 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved brexucabtagene autoleucel (Tecartus™) for adult patients with relapsed or refractory B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

In August 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) denied about 55,000 flavored e-cigarette products’ marketing applications for failing to provide evidence that they appropriately protect public health.

Stress is a normal and necessary part of life. However, prolonged emotional tension takes stress to a new level for many people, including oncology nurses. But what is the antidote to cumulative pressure? The evidence for compassion’s benefits during stress is compelling.

Many patients are delaying their recommended cancer screenings because of fear of death from COVID-19 coronavirus infection, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). However, those fears may not align with real-world outcomes, the agency said, when it reported July 2021 study findings from Arkansas and North Carolina.

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.

On September 21, 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reported IntegraDose Compounding Services’ voluntary recall of nine lots of cefazolin 2 g in 20 ml syringe for injection and two lots of cefazolin 3 g in 100 ml 0.9% sodium chloride bag for injection because of a lack of sterility assurance resulting from compounding in a newly installed biologic safety cabinet without completing dynamic smoke study testing.

A common and distressing symptom among patients with a variety of health diagnoses as well as the general population, constipation is characterized by reduced stool frequency, incomplete evacuation, straining, and a sense of anorectal blockage. Nearly 43%–58% of patients with cancer report constipation caused by a variety of factors, including organic, functional, or drug associated. Standard treatment options such as fiber supplements, laxatives, and stool softeners are not entirely effective and can cause adverse effects.

On September 22, 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved ruxolitinib (Jakafi^®) for chronic graft-versus-host disease after failure of one or two lines of systemic therapy in adult and pediatric patients aged 12 years and older.

On September 17, 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved cabozantinib (Cabometyx^®) for adult and pediatric patients aged 12 years and older with locally advanced or metastatic differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) that has progressed following prior vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGFR)-targeted therapy and who are ineligible for or refractory to radioactive iodine treatment.

On September 20, 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval to tisotumab vedotin-tftv (Tivdak™), a tissue factor-directed antibody and microtubule inhibitor conjugate, for adult patients with recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer whose disease has progressed on or after chemotherapy.

Ophelia is a 42-year-old patient who has been diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). She completed neoadjuvant chemotherapy with dose-dense doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide, followed by paclitaxel and carboplatin. Her postsurgical pathology shows residual disease in the tumor (3.5 cm down from 4 cm) and 12 out of 18 lymph nodes that are positive for cancer. Ophelia tells you that she is very discouraged and expected a better treatment outcome.

On September 17, 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reported Pfizer’s voluntary recall of all lots of varenicline 0.5 mg/1 mg tablets to the patient level because of the presence of N-nitroso-varenicline, a nitrosamine, at or above the FDA interim acceptable intake limit. FDA said that while Pfizer is undertaking the precautionary measure, alternative suppliers have been approved in the United States.

On September 15, 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval to mobocertinib (Exkivity™) for adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) exon 20 insertion variants, as detected by an FDA-approved test, whose disease has progressed on or after platinum-based chemotherapy.

In 2021, approximately 44,000 people will be diagnosed with thyroid cancer, most commonly younger patients and assigned females at birth.

My area of research focus is adults with primary central nervous system (CNS) tumors, which represent less than 2% of all diagnosed cancers. Because of the cancers’ rarity, access to diagnosed patients for research initiatives is limited. My team’s program, NCI-CONNECT, a part of the Rare Tumor Patient Engagement Network supported by the Cancer Moonshot, is advancing our understanding of adults with rare CNS cancers by establishing patient-advocacy-provider partnerships and networks to improve care and treatment approaches.

When chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies were first approved for cancer in 2017, nurses didn’t have years of clinical practice experience with the treatment to understand its full scope of nursing implications yet. Now that nearly five years have passed—and new CAR T-cell therapies have been approved, bringing the total number of treatments to five as well—oncology nurses and nurse scientists have built a robust knowledge base.

TP53 and MYOD1 variants are associated with more aggressive forms of rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare childhood cancer, and poorer outcomes, according to the results of the largest international genomic profiling study of the disease. The findings, which were published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, have implications for somatic biomarker testing to guide tailored treatment approaches.