Traditionally defined as patients aged 65 and older, older adults make up the majority of patients with cancer. Ambulatory care clinics with a specialized focus on older patients with cancer can provide age-specific care and an interprofessional team of providers well versed in cancer, aging, and geriatric assessment. Through geriatric oncology ambulatory care clinics, providers can work together to identify and coordinate plans to individualize treatment and supportive care for older patients.  

For the four most common cancer sites (breast, prostate, colorectal, and lung cancer), the median age of patients in clinical trials is an average of 6.5 years younger than the median age of patients diagnosed with that cancer. And the age disparity is worsening, researchers reported in JAMA Oncology. 

By bringing together gero-oncology experts from the ONS membership, staff, and leadership, the ONS geriatric oncology group is identifying gaps in geriatric oncology nursing research and care and connecting ONS members with available resources targeting this vulnerable population. Adult patients with cancer—aged 65 and older—already make up a majority of patients that oncology nurses see. Despite the population’s prevalence throughout cancer institutions and clinics, many nurses are not acutely familiar with the specialized care required to successfully help them navigate their treatment.  
 

The Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) is the highest honor early-career professional researchers can receive from the federal government. On July 15, 2019, two nurse researchers were included among this year’s recipients. National Institute of Nursing Research-supported scientists, Sarah Rossetti, RN, PhD, and Tracey L. Yap, PhD, RN, WCC, CNE, FGSA, FAAN, were acknowledged for their promise and leadership in nursing science and patient-centered research.

U.S. incidence rates for aggressive uterine cancer subtypes are quickly rising for women aged 30-70, especially among non-Hispanic black women, according to results of a study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Adults with the highest cardiorespiratory fitness levels have a reduced risk for lung and colorectal cancer—and a lower risk of death if they do develop the cancers, according to findings from a study published in Cancer.

As part of the rising wave of precision medicine initiatives, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) launched the All of Us campaign in 2018. This one-of-a-kind research program aimed to collect data from more than one million Americans, including factors about lifestyle, environment, and biology, to understand impacts on health and well being. The information would help researchers to better understand the individual nature of health to ultimately inform decisions about delivering precision medicine.  

Achieving Magnet recognition is the gold standard of a nursing program, demonstrating that an organization’s nursing leaders have established nursing excellence to improve outcomes for patients. And now the results of a new study published in Harvard Business Review show that excellent nurses are positively linked to physicians’ performance as well.

A prediction test accurately identifies which women with estrogen receptor (ER)-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer will benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy, according to the results of a study published in Breast Cancer Research and Treatment. 
 

Findings from two phase I clinical trials presented at the American Association for Cancer Research 2019 annual meeting indicate that targeting CAR T cells against mesothelin for advanced solid tumors and HER2 for advanced sarcoma is safe and shows clinical antitumor activity.

The House Appropriations Committee recently released its draft outline for the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education 2020 funding bill, allocating more than $189 billion in discretionary funding for education and training, medical research, and health care. The legislation includes funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), U.S Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. For 2020, the House Appropriations Committee increased funding by $11.7 billion over 2019 levels.

Findings from two recent studies underscore that cancer vaccines may be a larger part of the next wave of novel cancer therapies. According to data presented at the American Association for Cancer Research 2019 annual meeting, vaccination with as few as four tumor antigens generated antigen-specific responses, reduced intestinal tumors, and improved survival in a mouse model of Lynch syndrome. 

In May 2019, the National Cancer Institute (NCI), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), American Cancer Society, and North American Association of Central Cancer Registries (NAACCR) released a report detailing the decreasing cancer mortality rates in the United States. It’s a welcome trend among the cancer community, highlighting past efforts in prevention, screening, and early detection—along with improving rates of treatment success. 

Preliminary results reported in Nature Medicine showed that a redesigned CAR T-cell therapy produced complete response with no severe toxicities in 25 patients with refractory B-cell lymphoma.

A high-fiber diet leading to higher gut microbiome diversity may improve response to anti-PD-1 immunotherapy in patients with melanoma, according to the results of a new study presented at the 2019 American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting in Atlanta, GA. 

With faster and equally accurate results, liquid biopsy may be an option for identifying guideline-recommended targeted therapies for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to findings presented at the 2019 American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting in Atlanta, GA. 

Each year, federal agency leaders submit their budget proposals to the U.S. Congress for review. Often, the committee of jurisdiction will request formal testimony from an agency, which provides an opportunity for the department to speak directly to the elected officials who have the authority to fund programs and projects of interest.

To measure the value of oncology nursing certification, scientists must look at the intrinsic, qualitative outcomes associated with nurses achieving certification in practice. The research for oncology nursing certification has largely focused on perceived benefits for nurses, their colleagues, and their institutions. Data suggest that certified oncology nurses feel validated in their knowledge, report personal satisfaction for undertaking and completing the certification process, and say that it enhanced their professional credibility.

The state of Kentucky has seen some of the most success in reducing its uninsured rate thanks to the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion that took effect on January 1, 2014. The results of a new study, published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, showed that as the number of insured individuals rose, so too did important cancer screening rates.

Rates of all-cause mortality in patients with cancer increase in the presence of unexplained sinus tachycardia, the results of a new study show. Researchers presented the findings at the Advancing Cardiovascular Care of the Oncology Patient conference held January 2019 in Washington, DC.

According to researchers, only 43.8% of positive genetic variants detected in men with prostate cancer had corresponding recommendations for germline testing in National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines. The findings were published in JAMA Oncology.

Researchers have developed a device that can separate various cell types in patient blood samples based on the cell size, which may one day enable rapid, inexpensive liquid biopsies to help clinicians detect cancer and develop targeted treatment plans. Findings from the research that led to the device are reported in Microsystems and Nanoengineering.

Making a treatment decision for a cancer diagnosis is a very complex and challenging event for patients. This is particularly evident among men with prostate cancer. Because so many treatment options exist, often without a single best therapeutic or medical outcome, many men with prostate cancer may have challenges when making a treatment decision. Most patients rely on their providers to help them better understand their diagnosis, available treatments, impact, and side effects from treatment, but patients will ultimately seek external information to inform their decision-making process.

A new study showed that incidence rates are increasing for 6 of the 12 obesity-related cancers in U.S. young adults and that, over time, the increases are occurring in progressively younger ages and successively younger generations. The findings were published in Lancet Public Health.

Three cytogenetic subtypes are particularly responsible for the increased incidence of multiple myeloma in people of African descent, according to the results of a study published in Blood Cancer Journal.

Using chemotherapy with immune checkpoint inhibitors may reactivate tumors’ responses to immunotherapy, researchers concluded in a review article published in the Annals of Oncology.

Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women and the seventh most common overall. Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) has an estimated prevalence of 50%–90% in all patients and has been reported to affect 17%–33% of women with gynecologic cancers for as long as three to eight years after diagnosis. Many national guidelines from organizations such as the American College of Sports Medicine, American Cancer Society, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, and ONS all recommend exercise to improve fatigue in patients with cancer. But no research has synthesized the evidence for exercise as an intervention for fatigue specifically in patients with gynecologic cancers. 

Underserved communities largely have low rates of cancer genetic testing. Although the reasons vary, they can include lack of referrals, no or underinsurance, prohibitive cost, lack of trust, lack of knowledge, discrimination issues, or competing health needs.

In a statement during the 2019 State of the Union address, President Trump proposed ending the HIV epidemic by reducing new infections by 75% in the next five years and 90% in the next decade. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar hailed Trump’s statement as an important public health initiative.

According to an Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) analysis, the number of hospital-acquired conditions (HACs) reported in the United States dropped by 910,000 (13%) from 2014–2017. 

On February 28, 2019, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a trastuzumab and hyaluronidase-oysk injection, for subcutaneous use (Herceptin Hylecta). The drug is a combination of trastuzumab, a HER2/neu receptor antagonist, and hyaluronidase, an endoglycosidase, for the treatment of HER2‑overexpressing breast cancer. 

Women with early-stage cervical cancer have higher recurrence rates and worse overall survival with minimally invasive radical hysterectomy than abdominal radical hysterectomy, according to the results of two studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine.  

Pediatric cancers have more than an 80% overall cure rate, and that, at first glance, seems like something to celebrate. However, in terms of lives lost to different pediatric cancers, the American Cancer Society estimated that more than 1,100 children under the age of 15 will die from their disease in 2019—roughly one in five children diagnosed. Although survival rates are improving in cancers like acute lymphocytic leukemia and Hodgkin lymphoma, other childhood cancer types haven’t seen increased survival since the early 2000s.

Patients receiving hypofractionated external-beam radiation therapy (EBRT) for early-stage prostate cancer experienced similar outcomes and toxicities as those receiving standard radiation at lower doses over a longer period of time, the American Society for Radiation Oncology, American Society of Clinical Oncology, and American Urological Association say in a new clinical guideline.

Although the National Cancer Institute on the National Institutes of Health (NIH) campus bears the bulk of research dollars for new discoveries and treatments, other campus institutes engage in cancer research and support. Researchers from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) are conducting a new study investigating novel immunotherapy treatments for metastatic kidney cancer.

An S5 methylation test detected 100% of grade 2 cervical intraepithelial neoplasms or worse, compared to a 50% detection rate for Pap or human papillomavirus (HPV) tests, according to the results of a recent study reported in the International Journal of Cancer.

Healthcare providers need to address three priority areas to improve outcomes for cancer survivors and support caregivers for patients with cancer, according to findings from an evidence review published in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians.

On January 14, 2019, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved cabozantinib for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma who have been previously treated with sorafenib.

 The World Health Organization indicated that tobacco use is the most preventable cause of cancer worldwide. Globally, more than 7 million people die each year from causes associated with tobacco use and tobacco-related diseases. Despite recent trends that show falling rates for U.S.-based smokers, much work still must be done. Oncology nurses around the world can make a difference by engaging in prevention and treatment tactics, working with policymakers, and educating their communities and patients about tobacco control. 

Multigene testing for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer has increased the detection predisposition genes beyond BRCA1 and BRCA2, according to study findings presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium on December 7, 2018. 

Metformin is one of the oldest and most reliable pharmacologic treatments for type-2 diabetes and had, in the past, been suggested as a potential pancreatic cancer risk reducer in the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines for pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Although more recent versions of the guidelines have removed that language, our team was curious about the possible link between metformin and pancreatic cancer risk. 

Some patients receiving checkpoint inhibitors for lung cancer may experience increased risk for hyperprogressive disease (HPD), according to results of a study reported in JAMA Oncology.

Prostate cancer cells lacking androgen receptor (AR) expression do not respond to treatment and are more likely to grow, researchers reported in study findings published in Nature Communications. 

Patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) who experience more stress also have more cancer cells in their blood and elevated levels of three other advanced disease markers, according to results of a study published in Cancer. It is the first study to link stress with biologic disease markers in patients with CLL.

With the ubiquity of smartphones and, more recently, smart watches and fitness trackers, the potential to use these devices to monitor and assist patients with cancer has never been greater. Being able to monitor and respond to patient data through fitness trackers could help healthcare professionals provide swift, accurate interventions in the future. Our proof-of-concept study, “Wireless Monitoring Program of Patient-Centered Outcomes and Recovery Before and After Major Abdominal Cancer Surgery,” explored the feasibility and acceptability of using technology, including fitness monitors, to efficiently monitor patient-generated health data by answering the following questions: 

In October 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration expanded the approved use of the human papillomavirus (HPV) 9-valent vaccine to include women and men aged 27–45 years. Previously, the vaccine had been approved for males and females aged 9–26 years, but the expanded approval was granted after the application had undergone priority review.