From The Editor February 2023

TON - February 2023 Vol 16, No 1
Catherine Bishop, DNP, NP-C, AOCNP
Hematology/Oncology Nurse Practitioner

I am pleased to present the February issue of The Oncology Nurse-APN/PA (TON), a journal aimed at informing and empowering nurses, navigators, and advanced practice providers who work tirelessly to improve the lives of patients with cancer.

As we begin the new year, we are renewing our commitment to providing you with the latest information on cancer treatment and patient care, insights from leaders in the oncology nursing community, and other resources designed to help you succeed in your profession. As 2023 unfolds, we will also be unveiling some new features, which will offer additional opportunities for you to increase your knowledge and share your perspectives and experience with colleagues.

We begin this issue with an interview with Emily Hemmer, BSN, RN, Hepatobiliary Nurse Coordinator, Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, and Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, who discusses what inspired her to enter the nursing profession, her responsibilities at the center, some of the rewards and challenges of her job, and how it feels to be the recipient of the Cholangiocarcinoma Oncology Nurse of Excellence (ONE) award (see here).

This issue of TON also includes coverage from several important meetings held in the latter part of 2022, where experts discussed the latest safety and efficacy data from clinical trials evaluating new agents and therapeutic strategies that are leading to better survival rates and overall patient outcomes.

For example, in our coverage of the 64th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting and Exposition, we discuss new evidence suggesting that restrictive neutropenic diets may be unnecessary for patients undergoing hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation and may actually diminish patients’ quality of life (see here).

We also feature details from the phase 3 ALPINE trial, which may lead to a shift in the therapeutic approach used for patients with relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma (see here).

“Zanubrutinib not only improves the response rate, it also improves progression-free survival compared to ibrutinib, including in our highest risk patients,” noted Jennifer R. Brown, MD, PhD, Director, Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Center, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, and Worthington Margaret Collette Professor of Medicine, Hematologic Oncology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, in her presentation during this meeting.

This issue of TON also provides an overview of several presentations made during the 2022 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. In one of the noteworthy sessions at this meeting, Nicholas Turner, MD, PhD, Professor, Molecular Oncology, The Institute of Cancer Research, The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, London, England, UK, presented results from the CAPItello-291 trial, which showed a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in progression-free survival when the investigational AKT inhibitor, capivasertib, was combined with fulvestrant (Faslodex) for the treatment of hormone receptor–positive, HER2-low or -negative, locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer (see here).

To round out this issue, we have also included an article from the Association of Community Cancer Centers, which provides detailed data and insights from their 2022 Mini Z burnout survey (see here).

As always, we hope that you will enjoy this issue of TON, and we invite you to visit www.TheOncologyNurse.com to share your feedback with us. You can also send an e-mail with any questions or comments you may have to info@TheOncologyNurse.com.

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