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BOSTON—The growing use of oral oncolytics corresponds to a growing challenge with poor adherence to therapy. With more than 40 oral oncolytics available and dozens in the pipeline, Susan Moore, RN, MSN, ANP-BC, AOCN, oncology nurse practitioner and consultant with MCG Oncology in Chicago, Illinois, warned nurses at the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) annual meeting that “the issue is not going to fade away.”

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved abiraterone acetate (Zytiga, Centocor Ortho Biotech) in combination with prednisone to treat patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer who have received prior docetaxel-based chemotherapy.

This oral oncolytic targets CYP 17A1, which plays an important role in the production of testosterone. The drug works by decreasing the production of this hormone that would stimulate cancer cells to continue growing.

Each year thousands of oncology nurses gather at the annual congress to learn through interactive sessions, poster presentations, and other events. However, this year’s congress aims to go a step farther to engage and reengerize the attendees. Whether it’s a rock concert (Charlie Lustman’s Musical HOPE Campaign), new technology (QR codes, Apps, Twitter, Facebook, etc.), or a huge celebration (2011 CURE Extraordinary Healer Award for Oncology Nursing), this conference will be one of the most memorable.

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The evidence backing the use of myeloid growth factors in patients at high risk for febrile neutropenia is solid, according to Jeffrey Crawford, MD, of Duke Cancer Institute, Durham, North Carolina.

Myeloid growth factors are the primary means of preventing chemotherapy-induced neutropenia. This often leads to febrile neutropenia, which can be fatal in 10% of patients, according to a database of more than 40,000 individuals. Concerns recently have been raised, however, that their use is associated with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

Patients receiving chemotherapy are at risk for reactivation of the hepatitis B virus (HBV), and this can have a significant negative impact on the outcomes, including death from liver failure. According to Emmy Ludwig, MD, of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC), New York, one-third of the world has been exposed to HBV, “making it an enormous problem.”

Fortunately, HBV reactivation can be prevented with the prophylactic use of effective antiviral agents, for which recommendations were presented by Ludwig at the meeting.

Effective management of breakthrough cancer pain requires optimizing background therapy for chronic pain and accurately assessing the type of breakthrough pain, said presenters at the 45th American Society of Health-System Pharmacists Midyear Clinical Meeting & Exposition.

“Knowing the type of breakthrough cancer pain can help match the right drug with the right goal,” said Mary Lynn McPherson, PharmD, BCPS, CDE, who is professor and vice chair, Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science, University of Maryland School of Pharmacy in Baltimore.

Adding simvastatin to cetuximab enhances antitumor activity in KRAS-mutant colorectal (CRC) cancer cells, according to a study by Lee and colleagues in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. The addition did not, however, enhance efficacy in BRAF-mutant cells.

Imbalanced investment and relational amelioration emerged as areas of care that were viewed differently by navigators and their patients in an analysis of perspectives from each group. Researchers from the University of Rochester interviewed 18 pairs of patients and navigators as part of a larger randomized controlled trial. In doing so, Yosha and colleagues identified struggles the navigators, in this study well-trained lay community health workers supervised by social workers, were experiencing but to which the patients were unaware.

For the up to two-thirds of men with azoospermia after chemotherapy, microdissection testicular sperm extraction (TESE) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) can salvage fertility, according to the largest reported series of postchemotherapy microdissection TESE-ICI to date. Although prechemotherapy sperm banking remains a recommended part of any treatment plan, researchers from Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City demonstrated that assisted reproductive techniques should be offered to patients who did not preserve sperm.