BOSTON—As more targeted therapies for non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) become available, experts are assessing which patients’ tumors should be genotyped and when. Although genotyping—not to be confused with genetic testing—is becoming increasingly important in developing a treatment plan, professional guidelines do not yet recommend incorporating it as a routine part of care for patients with NSCLC.
Of the nurses who work in outpatient chemotherapy infusion centers, nearly 17% reported having been exposed on their skin or eyes to the toxic drugs they administer, according to a new study from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Approximately 84% of chemotherapy is administered in outpatient settings, often by nurses. This study included 1339 oncology nurses who were not employed by inpatient hospital units. Results appear online in the journal BMJ Quality and Safety.
On September 19-20, 2011, world leaders will convene at the United Nations in New York for the second ever high-level meeting on a specific health issue to chart a global response to noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). These challenging diseases – cancer, cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory disease, and diabetes – with common risk factors that include smoking, alcohol abuse, physical inactivity, and unhealthy diet, now cause 63% of all deaths globally, 90% of which occur in developing countries.
In the U.S., nurse practitioners (NPs) or physician assistants (PAs) are caring for patients alongside nearly half of all physicians, according to a new government report.
NPs, PAs, and certified nurse midwives (CNMs) worked together with 49.1% of U.S. physicians in 2009. Larger practices and those practices generating a significant amount of revenue from Medicaid patients were often where these practitioners were employed, according to researchers at the National Center for Health Statistics.
For breast cancer patients aged 66 years and older, nurses should consider comorbidities when discussing prognosis, according to an analysis of Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results–Medicare data.
The healthcare system is only beginning to recognize what nurses who tend patients with cancer have always known: The loved ones of dying patients also need help managing pain. Julie Cronin, BSN, RN, OCN, an oncology nurse at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in Boston, says failing to address family members’ distress has serious consequences. “If the spiritual, emotional, physical, and mental needs of these loved ones are neglected, the rates of morbidity and mortality, depression, and risk for ineffective coping can skyrocket.”
CHICAGO—Flaxseed failed to have a significant effect on reducing hot flashes in women compared with placebo, according to results of a randomized, placebo-controlled trial supported by the North Central Cancer Treatment Group. The study included breast cancer survivors as well as women who had never had breast cancer who experienced frequent hot flashes throughout the day and night.
CHICAGO—Both patients and practitioners realize the importance of psychosocial issues, but today’s cancer care often fails to address them. Steps to resolve this problem are under way, according to experts at an education session.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved vemurafenib (Zelboraf, Genentech, a member of the Roche Group) for metastatic or unresectable melanoma. Vemurafenib, a BRAF inhibitor, is able to block the function of the V600E-mutated BRAF protein.
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