On July 31, 2023, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved dostarlimab-gxly (Jemperli) with carboplatin and paclitaxel, followed by single-agent dostarlimab-gxly, for primary advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer that is mismatch repair deficient, as determined by an FDA-approved test, or microsatellite instability-high.

A growing literature base supports the use of medical cannabis in cancer care and symptom management, and as of April 2023, 42 states, including 3 territories and the District of Columbia, allow for medical use. As more patients use or seek to use medical cannabis during their cancer trajectory, oncology nurses are looking to the latest research behind medical cannabis, how cannabis can impact their patients’ treatment plans and symptom management, and legislation in the state in which they practice.

Alleviating the effects of persistent poverty on cancer outcomes requires building research capacity, fostering cancer prevention research, and promoting the implementation of community-based programs. To enhance the United States’ capacity to do so, the Biden-Harris administration awarded $50 million in June 2023 to create five new Centers for Cancer Control Research in Persistent Poverty Areas that will advance the Cancer Moonshot’s priorities.

In the United States, one in five adults experiences mental illness every year. Racial and ethnic populations can face particularly unique and inequitable challenges with mental illness and caring for their mental health. To raise awareness about mental health barriers in historically underrepresented groups, July is designated as National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month.

ONS member Janice Phillips, PhD, RN, CENP, FAAN, took the reins as the Illinois Department of Public Health’s (IDHP’s) latest assistant director in July 2023. Her new role positions Phillips, a longtime ONS advocate, to eliminate health disparities and inequities by establishing and strengthening collaboration between IDPH and community partners across the state.

Biological sex may be a factor in COVID-19–related mortality among patients with cancer, according to study findings that researchers published in JAMA Oncology. They found that female patients were nearly twice as likely to die from infections than male patients.

In bipartisan, bicameral effort to help older adults save money when choosing a Medicare healthcare plan, Senators Bill Cassidy, MD (R-LA), and Tom Carper (D-DE) and Representatives Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Brad Wenstrup, DPM (R-OH), reintroduced the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) Part D Choice Act in the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate in May 2023. The legislation allows Medicare-only PACE participants to choose between the PACE Part D plan or a standalone Medicare Part D plan without incurring high Part D premiums.

After clinical trials demonstrated a 43% durable objective response rate with a median 8.5-month duration, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted adagrasib (Krazati™) accelerated approval in December 2022 for adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer with a KRAS G12C variant, as detected by an FDA-approved test, whose disease has progressed on or after at least one prior systemic therapy.

Recognizing the critical need to expand advanced practices RNs’ education and training and geographically diverse work opportunities, especially in rural and underserved communities, Representatives Lauren Underwood (D-IL), Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), and Steven Horsford (D-NV) introduced the Educating Future Nurses Act in the U.S. House of Representatives in May 2023. At the same time, Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Bob Casey (D-PA), and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) introduced the legislation in the U.S. Senate.

On July 20, 2023, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved quizartinib (Vanflyta®) in combination with standard cytarabine and anthracycline induction and cytarabine consolidation and as maintenance monotherapy following consolidation chemotherapy for the treatment of adult patients with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia that are FLT3 internal tandem duplication-positive, as detected by an FDA-approved test. FDA also approved the LeukoStrat CDx FLT3 variant assay as a companion diagnostic for quizartinib.