Capecitabine (Xeloda®) was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1998 as a nucleoside metabolic inhibitor with antineoplastic activity indicated for adjuvant colon cancer, metastatic colorectal cancer, and metastatic breast cancer.
In honor of Oncology Nursing Month this May, board members from five ONS chapters across the United States shared why ONS means so much to them.
When standing up for patients, championing treatments, or stopping an unfair process, nurses speak truth to power. Being on the front lines is part of every nurse’s routine, but many shy away from engaging in the policy world under similar circumstances that affect the profession, patients, and peers. It doesn’t have to be that way. Nurses can educate themselves on the candidates and policy issues and lend their voice to the political conversation.
On May 19, 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved olaparib (Lynparza®) for adult patients with deleterious or suspected deleterious germline or somatic homologous recombination repair (HRR) gene-mutated, metastatic, castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC), who have progressed following prior treatment with enzalutamide or abiraterone.
No longer just a convenience, drive-throughs are an essential part of social distancing during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. Retailers and healthcare providers alike have taken it beyond the typical food, prescriptions, and banking, offering everything from merchandise to virus testing—and now, thanks to the innovation of two oncology nurses, cancer care.
A new drug is extending both remission and survival in adults with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), according to findings reported at the American Society of Hematology annual meeting in December 2019. The study was funded by Celgene, the drug’s manufacturer.
On May 18, 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved atezolizumab (Tecentriq®) for first-line treatment of adult patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose tumors have high PD-L1 expression (PD-L1 staining ≥ 50% of tumor cells [TC] or PD-L1-stained tumor-infiltrating immune cells [IC] covering ≥ 10% of the tumor area), with no epidermal growth factor receptor or anaplastic lymphoma kinase genomic tumor aberrations.
Doug is a 70-year-old man receiving treatment at the cancer center for metastatic renal cell carcinoma. He was initially treated with sunitinib, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI). He has been experiencing significant upper back pain and is having trouble with fine motor skills in his fingers. The oncologist, suspecting spinal cord compression (SCC), ordered a computed tomography scan, which confirmed metastatic lesions in the spine leading to instability and mild SCC.
On May 15, 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved ripretinib (Qinlock™) for adult patients with advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) who received prior treatment with three or more kinase inhibitors, including imatinib.
On May 15, 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval to rucaparib (Rubraca®) for patients with deleterious BRCA mutation (germline or somatic)-associated, metastatic, castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) who had been treated with androgen receptor-directed therapy and taxane-based chemotherapy.