In this issue of The Oncology Nurse-APN/PA, we provide our readers with a variety of articles aimed at helping them stay up to date on important issues facing nursing professionals as they prepare for new opportunities in the upcoming year. We begin this issue with highlights from the virtual Scripps MD Anderson Cancer Center’s 2020 Cancer Care Symposium, which covers several topics relevant to today’s nurses and advanced practice providers, such as addressing ethical issues in cancer care (see here), developing strategies for de-escalating anger in patients (see here), and implementing more effective survivorship care plans (see here).
“Survivors represent a growing population we need to attend to in our clinics and in society. Different groups of patients need different programs, because one size does not fit all,” explained Ann H. Partridge, MD, MPH, Director, Adult Survivorship Program, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Professor, Medicine Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, in her presentation on survivorship during the symposium.
We also feature summaries of several presentations given during the virtual 2020 American Society of Clinical Oncology Quality Care Symposium, including sessions on improving multidisciplinary cancer care (see here), mitigating the financial burden of cancer treatment for patients (see here), ensuring the delivery of high-quality care in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic (see here), and examining the impact of social determinants of health on cancer care and patient quality of life (see here).
In addition, we continue to bring you the latest news on FDA-approved and emerging therapies being used in the treatment of a wide range of malignancies. You will read about the safety and efficacy of a new personalized vaccine, as well as combination regimens incorporating targeted drugs such as abemaciclib, cabozantinib, ibrutinib, ipilimumab, and olaparib, which are leading to improved outcomes in patients with cancer.
In a presentation at the National Comprehensive Cancer Network 2020 Annual Congress: Hematologic Malignancies conference, Shaji Kumar, MD, Consultant and Professor of Medicine, Division of Hematology, Mayo Clinic Cancer Center, Rochester, MN, discussed the explosion of new therapies available for the treatment of multiple myeloma, including selinexor, a selective inhibitor of nuclear export, and belantamab mafodotin-blmf, a drug that targets B-cell maturation antigen. Both agents are showing promise in patients with relapsed or refractory disease (see here).
“A host of therapies are on the horizon, including immunotherapies, CAR [chimeric antigen receptor] T-cell, and BiTE [bispecific T-cell engager] therapies. Stay tuned for progress reports,” he said.
As the year comes to a close, I want to express my sincere gratitude to nursing professionals everywhere for their courage and dedication during this time of unprecedented challenges. I wish you all peace and joy as we enter the holiday season and renewed hope for the new year.
As always, we encourage our readers to contact us via e-mail at info@TheOncologyNurse.com with any questions or comments.
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