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On April 17, 2017, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval to atezolizumab (Tecentriq; Genentech), a monoclonal antibody intravenous (IV) inhibitor of programmed-cell death ligand-1 (PD-L1), as detected by the FDA-approved test, as a front-line treatment for patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma who are not eligible for cisplatin chemotherapy.

On August 3, 2017, the FDA granted an accelerated approval for the new combination of daunorubicin and cytarabine liposome (Vyxeos; Jazz Pharmaceuticals), an intravenously infused drug, for the treatment of adults with newly diagnosed therapy-related AML or AML with myelodysplasia-related changes.

On October 18, 2017, Yescarta (axicabtagene ciloleucel; Kite Pharma) was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of adults with certain types of relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma after receiving 2 or more lines of systemic therapy; these types include DLBCL not otherwise specified, primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma, high-grade B-cell lymphoma, and DLBCL arising from follicular lymphoma.

Using its priority review process, on March 27, 2017, the FDA approved niraparib (Zejula; Tesaro), an oral PARP inhibitor, for the maintenance treatment of adults with recurrent epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer whose tumors have completely or partially responded to platinum-based chemotherapy.

The Affordable Care Act (ACA), officially called the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which began implementation in March 2010 and will not be fully implemented until 2018, has impacted oncology care in both positive and negative ways. This legislation provides opportunities for addressing disparities in cancer care, and it has the potential to expand access to care and improve services among vulnerable groups.

A thoughtful discussion on the development of the AONN+ metrics and the need to identify how these measures align with the national standards and indicators.

The Biden Cancer Initiative builds on former Vice President Joe Biden’s work on the National Cancer Moonshot Initiative by developing and driving implementation of solutions to accelerate progress in cancer prevention, detection, diagnosis, research, and care, and to reduce disparities in cancer outcomes.

The authors present their findings from a study testing the effects of an early intervention by the Breast Cancer Navigator on distress.

“Participating in a national conversation on improving cancer care is a great honor. We are being asked to reconsider how we address cancer from prevention through survivorship. It’s a huge undertaking, but a very exciting one. I’m delighted to be a part of it.” –Danelle Johnston, MSN, RN, ONN-CG, OCN