Using the human immune system to target cancer has made tremendous strides in recent years. Jaruska Naidoo, MBBCh, from the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, and Joanne Riemer, RN, BSN, from Johns Hopkins University, discussed the progress made in immunotherapy and how nurses play a role in clinical trials during a session at the 42nd Annual Congress in Denver, CO.

When President Obama announced the National Cancer Moonshot Initiative during his State of the Union address in January 2016, he set lofty goals for oncology professionals. One of those goals called for increased access to and participation in clinical trials. Clinical trial data are integral in getting cutting-edge treatments to market, where they can help improve cancer care. However, many patients aren’t fully educated about the efficacy of these new forms of treatment and what these trials entail.

At the 2016 State of the Union Address, President Obama announced a commitment to eliminating cancer by 2020. The “moonshot” is to be led by Vice President Joe Biden, who lost his son to a brain tumor last May. In his statement, Biden acknowledges that there are currently many barriers to cancer research and finding a cure. The Cancer Moonshot will need to come at the problem from many angles in order to be effectual.

Many young adults are just coming into their own through their teenage years and into their 20s. They’re attending college or entering the workforce, they’re beginning to form serious relationships, and they’re often coming to terms with what it means to be an adult. Unfortunately, this age group is not immune to cancer diagnoses. In fact, according to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), more than 70,000 adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer diagnoses happen each year.

Oncology clinical trial results form the backbone of oncology medicine. How well do you understand the tables, plots, and statistics generated as a result of clinical research? During the recent ONS Congress, many presenters displayed new study data using charts with naturalistic names, such as waterfall, skyline, forest, and spider plots.