Understanding evidence-based strategies for the management and administration of central venous catheters is crucial to the prevention of associated complications, MiKaela Olsen, DNP, APRN-CNS, AOCNS^®, FAAN, said in a presentation for the inaugural ONS Bridge™ virtual conference. Oncology nurses need to be knowledgeable about vascular access to prevent complications and ensure optimal outcomes for patients.

Only 17% of all patients surveyed have had conversations with their physicians about the end of life, experts reported. Nurses can help normalize the process of dying and facilitate such conversations.

Oncologic emergencies require prompt intervention to achieve the best outcomes. During a session for the inaugural ONS Bridge™ virtual conference, oncology nurse innovators described their projects to develop standard protocols to manage two common oncologic emergencies: hypersensitivity reactions to rituximab and febrile neutropenia.

Nursing shortages and high rates of turnover are documented problems that negatively affect patient care and institutional costs. During a session for the inaugural ONS Bridge™ virtual conference, Christopher Brooks, MS, RN, CENP, AOCNS^®, director of  nursing professional development and education at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, outlined philosophies and programs his institution uses to recruit and retain its nursing workforce.

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy is at the forefront of care for a specific subset of patients with cancer. However, the severe side effects of this highly specialized treatment require unique management. During a session for the inaugural ONS Bridge™ virtual conference, Kathleen McDermott, RN, BSN, OCN^®, BMTCN^®, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discussed how oncology nurses can temper the storm of CAR T-cell therapy.

The Human Genome Project determined the DNA sequence (order of base pairs) of the entire human genome. Humans are 99.9% identical at the level of base pair ordering, but the 0.1% difference contributes to disease risk. Upon completion of the human genetic blueprint, research turned to identifying and cataloguing genomic variation as well as determining the clinical relevance of variants.

Common classes of non-cancer medications that affect a patient’s microbiome are associated with increased or decreased survival with immune checkpoint inhibitor drugs, researchers reported in study findings published in BMC Cancer.

By harnessing the power of a patient’s own immune system, immune checkpoint inhibitors improve antitumor immunity by blocking negative regulators (checkpoints) of T-cell function that exist on both immune and tumor cells. They essentially stop the immune system from turning off before cancer is completely eliminated.

“Nursing is at the forefront of symptom management, and nurse-designed interventions lead the way,” Gwen Wyatt, RN, PhD, FAAN, FAPOS, recipient of the 2020 ONS Distinguished Nurse Researcher Award, said in a session at the inaugural ONS Bridge™ virtual conference. She shared lessons from her career journey and told nurses that ONS can help them get their ideas “off the drawing board.”

The National Institutes of Health Revitalization Act of 1993 mandated appropriate inclusion of minorities in all NIH-funded research. Yet more than 20 years later, vast disparities still exist in cancer research, researchers reported in a session for the inaugural ONS Bridge™ virtual conference.