When patients or loved ones receive a cancer diagnosis, they often experience fear, worry, and a desire to do everything possible to increase the chance of survival. It is also a pivotal time for patients to assess their well-being and lifestyle and make positive changes. For many, complementary therapies become part of their cancer care journey. Internationally, 40% of patients with cancer have reported using complementary therapies to address cancer-related symptoms, improve the effectiveness of conventional treatments, and provide hope.

Researchers have found that use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) after diagnosis appears to improve survival for patients with epithelial ovarian cancer. The study results were published in Lancet Oncology.

On November 9, 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval to pembrolizumab (Keytruda) for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma who have been previously treated with sorafenib.

Since the first biosimilar agent was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2015, patients and providers have had concerns about the implications for their care and practice, respectively. Because 6 of the 12 biosimilar drugs currently approved in the United States have indications for oncology practice, oncology nurses have a responsibility to understand the drugs’ safety and efficacy for the patients in their care.

Nurse practitioners (NPs) play an undeniably valuable role in producing quality outcomes in cancer patients. For National NP Week from November 11–17, 2018, pause with ONS to recognize, thank, and support the oncology NPs who relentlessly pursue excellence, striving for the best for their patients from diagnosis through survivorship.

As a direct line to the oncology team, the phone conversations between nurses and their patients can help address symptoms, foster valuable patient education, provide useful interventions, encourage side effect reporting, and identify potentially life-threatening situations. Ultimately, successful telephone triage requires a unique skill set for oncology nurses to communicate with their patients and recognize underlying issues.

On October 30, 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved pembrolizumab (Keytruda) in combination with carboplatin and either paclitaxel or nab-paclitaxel as first-line treatment of metastatic squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

This is the third in a series detailing some of the general factors to consider around patient adherence to oral medications, and ways to support patients receiving neratinib.

This is the third in a series detailing some of the general factors to consider around patient adherence to oral medications, and ways to support patients receiving neratinib.

AS is a 58-year-old woman who was diagnosed at age 55 with a right infiltrating ductal carcinoma of the breast, identified as grade III, ER and PR positive, and HER2 positive. She had bilateral mastectomy, and tumor size was noted to be 2.8 cm. She had a positive sentinel lymph node. She was staged at IIB (pT2, pN1, M0). Her left breast was noted to have usual ductal epithelial hyperplasia and a 1.2 cm fibroadenoma. AS’s genetic testing revealed a BRCA1 mutation (BRCA1 c.3748G>T [p.Glu1250*]), which may confer an increased risk for breast cancer in the range of 46%–87%, and 39%–63% risk for ovarian cancer by age 70. As her patient history shows, she has some risk factors for nonadherence, including no support at home and some financial issues. Throughout her care, the team worked to communicate and prepare AS to help ensure adherence as much as possible.

The cancer treatment landscape has shifted with the emergence of new, targeted therapies. Development and use of oral oncolytics, targeted cancer therapies that can be taken by patients orally in their own homes, has increased in recent years. This increase is due in part to research in extra- and intracellular signaling pathways. By interfering with or blocking these signals, targeted drugs have become standard agents in cancer therapy. Oral oncolytics currently account for about 25% of the oncology pipeline of drugs in clinical development, and experts project that oral oncoloytic use will continue to rise.

To meet or maintain Magnet designation, the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) Magnet Recognition Program expects organizations to incorporate specialty standards and guidelines into the care delivery system. 

Nearly 20% of men with metastatic, castration-resistant prostate cancer had tumors that developed into the treatment-emergent small-cell neuroendocrine (t-SCNC) subtype, which is associated with shorter survival than other subtypes, according to findings from a study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

On October 16, 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved talazoparib, a poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitor, for patients with deleterious or suspected deleterious germline BRCA-mutated, HER2‑negative locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer. Patients must be selected for therapy based on an FDA-approved companion diagnostic for talazoparib.

Monoclonal antibody cancer treatments such as rituximab have a high risk for hypersensitivity reactions from cytokine release syndrome. The symptoms, which can range from mild to life threatening, result from tumor antigen-expressing cells releasing cytokines (e.g., tumor necrosis factor, interleukin, interferon) into the blood as they are destroyed. Symptoms include fever, chills, rigors, rash, headache, hypotension, shortness of breath, bronchospasm, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain.

Which Gene is Associated With Cowden Syndrome (Multiple Hamartoma Syndrome)?

A. APC 

B. VHL 

C. TP53 

D. PTEN

On September 28, 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved cemiplimab-rwlc for patients with metastatic cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC) or locally advanced CSCC who are not candidates for curative surgery or curative radiation.

On September 24, 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted regular approval to duvelisib for adult patients with relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) or small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL) after at least two prior therapies.

Which of the following nonpharmacologic interventions is currently recommended for practice for cancer-related fatigue?

A. Acupressure

B. Meditation

C. Exercise

D. Tai Chi

It takes an average of 12 years to move a drug from a new application to approval for a specific indication. Twelve years of clinical trials, documentation of several endpoints, and data surrounding incidence of observed adverse events and expected severity. Twelve years until a broader subset of patients can access the drug. 

Wilson was diagnosed with B-cell lymphoma three days after his 63rd birthday. He underwent chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy after his disease failed to respond to two lines of systemic chemotherapy.

Lung cancer is the second most common cancer in both men and women (after skin cancer) and is the leading cause of cancer death among both men and women. Histology has become an important determinant in choosing therapy for various types of cancer, including non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Currently, biomarker testing is the standard of care in lung cancer; with biomarker testing, patients likely to respond to targeted therapy can be identified. As the number of targeted agents continues to increase, so does the demand for continued biomarker testing and adequate tumor tissue samples.

As global populations grow, so does the cancer burden, a new study from the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) reported. The results of the latest analysis of the incidence and mortality of 36 types of cancer in 185 countries were published in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians in September 2018.

On September 13, 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved moxetumomab pasudotox-tdfk (Lumoxit), a CD22-directed cytotoxin indicated for adult patients with relapsed or refractory hairy cell leukemia who received at least two prior systemic therapies, including treatment with a purine nucleoside analog.

Pain is the most common and debilitating side effect that patients with cancer experience. Contributing factors include the disease itself via tumor invasion on surrounding tissue and bone; nerve compression; treatments including chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery, especially chemo-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN), which can be disabling; and aromatase inhibitors that can cause persistent diffuse joint pain. In addition, pain that “breaks through” continuous pain medicine can be difficult to predict and control.

As medical use of cannabis is increasingly legalized across the United States, oncology nurses need to become more familiar with the implications of patients using it for cancer symptom management. According to Merkle and Tavernier in their article in the August 2018 issue of the Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing, little research has been conducted in medical cannabis use and the efficacy and toxicity of cancer treatment. Their article reviewed current literature to better understand the effects that cannabis may have on the lungs in patients with cancer.  

What does the “E” mean in the National Cancer Institute’s “ABCDE” tool for recognizing melanoma?

A. Extension

B. Evolution

C. Equal

D. Expand

On August 16, 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved lenvatinib capsules for first-line treatment of patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma.

Whereas chemotherapy induces apoptosis by interfering with cell division of both cancerous and healthy cells, targeted therapy exploits targets, proteins, enzymes, or genes specific to malignant cells through a variety of mechanisms of action, which helps prevent drug resistance. The agents work by either inhibiting angiogenesis, blocking chemical signals that tell cells to divide or carry out normal function, or delivering toxic substances to a cell. 

Mrs. Johnson has just been told she's in remission from breast cancer. Which of the following isn't a surveillance recommendation?

A. Routine mammography screening every 12 months for locally recurrent tumors or new primary cancers  

B. Screening for cervical and colorectal cancer every six months for two years 

C. Gynecologic evaluation every 12 months for women on tamoxifen therapy who have an intact uterus 

D. Detailed history and physical examination every three to six months for three years  

Nearly a century ago, cancer staging was a simple categorization of disease as either local, regional, or distant. Then in the 1940s, a French surgeon developed the concept for a staging system that uses the size of the primary tumor (T), its lymphatic involvement (N), and the presence of metastases (M) to stage a patient’s cancer based on the anatomic extent of the disease at the time of diagnosis.

On August 8, 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved mogamulizumab-kpkc (Poteligeo) for adult patients with relapsed or refractory mycosis fungoides or Sézary syndrome after at least one prior systemic therapy.

After years of decline, the death rate trend for prostate cancer has stabilized from 2013–2015, according to the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI’s) 2018 Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer.

Which of the following drug spills doesn’t require a full-facepiece, chemical cartridge-type respirator or PAPR during clean up?

A. 5-Fluorouracil 

B. Cyclophosphamide 

C. Adriamycin  

D. Nitrogen mustard 

Ibrutinib is a first-in-class Bruton’s tyrosine kinase inhibitor that is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)/small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL). The drug’s approval was based on results from the multicenter, open-label, phase III RESONATE trial.

On July 20, 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved ivosidenib for adult patients with relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with a susceptible IDH1 mutation as detected by an FDA-approved test.

Lurking in the dark corners of bedrooms across the country, unseen figures wait to feast of the blood of humans and animals alike. When the lights go dark, they come out for dinner. No, they’re not vampires or mystical beasts—they’re bedbugs. These parasitic insects feed exclusively on the blood of humans and animals and are a prevalent parasite in the United States. 

On July 18, 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) expanded the indication for ribociclib (Kisqali) in combination with an aromatase inhibitor for pre/perimenopausal women with HR-positive, HER2-negative advanced or metastatic breast cancer, as initial endocrine-based therapy.

On July 13, 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved enzalutamide (Xtandi), for patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer.

Betty, age 70, was diagnosed with metastatic colon cancer and started treatment with FOLFOX. Her medical oncologist changed the treatment to capcitabine after Betty developed grade 3 peripheral neuropathy. Because of disease progression, bevacizumab was added to her treatment plan. She lives with her daughter, is insured by Medicare, and receives $800 per month from Social Security.

On July 10, 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval to ipilimumab for use in combination with nivolumab for the treatment of patients 12 years of age and older with microsatellite instability-high or mismatch repair deficient metastatic colorectal cancer that has progressed following treatment with a fluoropyrimidine, oxaliplatin, and irinotecan.

Despite groundbreaking treatments, novel medications, fast-tracked drug approvals, and cutting-edge science, a terminal diagnosis is still a reality for many patients with cancer. Having end-of-life discussions with patients and their family members is a difficult part of oncology nursing, but it’s necessary to provide the highest quality of care and education possible. With more news reports emerging about states introducing—and passing—medical aid in dying legislation, oncology nurses will face questions about the process from patients and caregivers.

What is unique about the most recent U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approvals in the oncology/hematology area is that almost all are for new indications of existing agents as opposed to new agents. This is not surprising because many of the agents target specific bioassays or tumor markers instead of a specific disease site. Oncology nurses need to be aware of the changes because treatments that they have become accustomed to giving for one indication may soon be given for others as well.

It’s a rote but important phrase: Necessity is the mother of invention. When a need presents itself, developing novel, inventive solutions can lead to important change. But inventive change doesn’t have to come on a massive scale: small inventions can still have a big impact.