Researchers have developed a test that detects tiny amounts of cancer-specific DNA in the blood and used it to accurately identify more than half of 138 people with early-stage colorectal, breast, lung, or ovarian cancers. The findings were published in Science Translational Medicine.

Former U.S. Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) put partisanship aside to support federal funding for biomedical research. And, while battling cancer himself, he spoke about the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and its crucial role in finding treatments and cures. “Health is our nation’s number one asset. Without your health, you can’t do anything. I believe medical research should be pursued with all possible haste to cure the diseases and maladies affecting Americans. I have said many times that the NIH is the crown jewel of the federal government—perhaps the only jewel of the federal government.”

A large study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute found that patients with nonmetastatic breast, lung, or colorectal cancer who chose to use only alternative medicine had substantially worse survival than patients who received conventional cancer treatment.

Although cigarette use has long been linked to lung cancer, scientists have not understood how the earliest changes in lung cells developed. In a study published in Cancer Cell, researchers showed how cigarette smoke sensitized airway cells to genetic mutations that are known to cause lung cancers.

On November 16, 2017, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved sunitinib malate (Sutent, Pfizer Inc.) for the adjuvant treatment of adult patients at high risk of recurrent renal cell carcinoma following nephrectomy.

On November 16, 2017, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted regular approval to obinutuzumab (Gazyva^®, Genentech, Inc.) in combination with chemotherapy, followed by obinutuzumab monotherapy in patients achieving at least a partial remission, for the treatment of adult patients with previously untreated stage II bulky, III, or IV follicular lymphoma (FL).

On November 16, 2017, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved emicizumab-kxwh (Hemlibra^®, Genentech, Inc.) for routine prophylaxis to prevent or reduce the frequency of bleeding episodes in adult and pediatric patients with hemophilia A (congenital factor VIII deficiency) with factor VIII inhibitors.

Researchers have developed a new approach for brain imaging that can better distinguish immune responses from tumor growth in people with glioblastoma. The findings were published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Mushrooms have been valued for their health-promoting and medicinal effects for thousands of years. Research over the past few decades has focused on maitake (Grifola frondosa), reishi (Ganoderma lucidum), coriolus (Coriolus versicolor), shiitake (Lentinula edodes), and agaricus (Agaricus blazei), which are predominantly used in Asia.

On November 9, 2017, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted regular approval to brentuximab vedotin (Adetris^®, Seattle Genetics, Inc.) for the treatment of adult patients with primary cutaneous anaplastic large cell lymphoma (pcALCL) or CD30-expressing mycosis fungoides (MF) who have received prior systemic therapy.

A wide gap in health disparities continues to exist in the United States, affecting countless underserved and underrepresented Americans. Despite some focus on education, assistance, and outreach, pockets of U.S. citizens are still facing healthcare challenges because of their race, socioeconomic status, location, or other disparities. Because many different factors can contribute to a person’s health, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is dedicating research funding to learn more about how people’s life situations have an impact on their overall health.

The future of oncology care hinges on the implementation of new sciences, the collaboration of researchers, and timeliness with which healthcare professionals can integrate change into practice, according to a new report released by Lancet Oncology.

Taller men and those with a higher body mass index (BMI) may be at increased risk for high-grade prostate cancer and disease-related mortality, according to the results of a study published in BMC Medicine.

A new treatment approach may eventually help young patients respond better to treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), according to the results of a new study published in Nature Communications.

Women with locally advanced esophageal cancer that is treated with chemotherapy and radiation therapy before surgery are more likely to have a favorable response to their cancer treatment and less likely to have recurrence than men are, according to the results of a study published in Annals of Thoracic Surgery.

In one bold declaration during his final State of the Union Address in 2016, President Barack Obama raised our hopes to a singular goal—ending cancer as we know it—as he announced the National Cancer Moonshot Initiative, now called the Biden Cancer Initiative. Grounded in real research with tangible results, the intent was not even that daring: it was more realistic. Eradicating cancer, now understood to be many different aspects of the same disease, in five years was unlikely, but rather the goal was to achieve in five years what previously would take a decade.

Even 10 years after diagnosis and without recurrence, cancer survivors have a higher opioid prescription rate than healthy controls, according to the results of a study published in Cancer.

In an effort to build a comprehensive catalog of genetic causes of cancer, researchers from Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Broad Institute as well as Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have identified more than 760 genes that cells from multiple types of cancer depend on for growth and survival. The findings were published in Cell.

On September 22, 2017, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval to nivolumab for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients who have been previously treated with sorafenib.

On September 22, 2017, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted accelerated approval to pembrolizumab (Ketruda^®) for patients with recurrent locally advanced or metastatic, gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma whose tumors express PD-L1 as determined by an FDA-approved test. Patients must have had disease progression on or after two or more prior systemic therapies, including fluoropyrimidine- and platinum-containing chemotherapy and, if appropriate, HER2/neu-targeted therapy.

A new study testing a dendritic cell vaccine for the first time in humans to treat non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has shown that it successfully amplifies the immune system to boost the effectiveness of anti-PD-1 immunotherapies against the cancer. The findings were published in Clinical Cancer Research.

Breast cancer risk peaks when a patient is in her 40s for BRCA1 mutations and in her 50s for BRCA2 mutations, according to the results of a new study published in JAMA.

Clinical trials are responsible for discovering new treatments for cancer as well as the continued evolution of standards of care in clinical practice. Nationally, less than 5% of all eligible adult patients with cancer enroll in clinical trials. Additionally, it takes a drug an average of six to eight years from when it is first introduced in trials to become fully available to all patients who could benefit from it.

As healthcare institutions become ever more complex and our focus on patient experience expands, nurses are leading and participating in research studies, evidence-based practice (EBP) projects, and quality improvement (QI) initiatives with a goal of improving patient outcomes. Research, EBP, and QI have subtle differences and frequent overlap, which can make it a challenge for nurses to identify the best option to investigating a clinical problem.

Guidelines regarding healthcare provider communication about immunotherapy do not currently exist. Researchers sought to determine patient and provider preferences for this type of information and to identify barriers to communication about immunotherapy. The study’s findings were presented at the 2017 ASCO Annual Meeting.

Disparities continue to create a wide gap in health in the United States. Many factors can contribute to a person’s health, and we still have much to learn about the issue. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced it will be dedicating research funding to find out more about how lifestyle impacts health.

After former President Obama’s surgeon general was asked to resign by the Trump administration, the White House appointed Rear Admiral Sylvia Trent-Adams, PhD, RN, FAAN, as acting surgeon general.

As part of its Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer for 1975-2014, a group of organizations and agencies identified significant increases in cancer survival in the United States, with survival rates more than doubling for eight cancers.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently announced, through the Office of Health and Constituent Affairs, that it has established the Oncology Center of Excellence (OCE). Longtime FDA official, Richard Pazdur, MD, has been named to lead the division as its first director. The OCE will make oncology “the first disease area to have a coordinated clinical review of drugs, biologics and devices across the agency’s three medical product centers,” according to the FDA.