For patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (SCLC), cytotoxic chemotherapy remains a mainstay of treatment. However, myelosuppressive hematologic adverse events such as anemia, neutropenia, and thrombocytopenia pose a significant challenge to care. In a study recently presented at the 63rd American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition in Atlanta, Georgia, a team of researchers led by Dr. Jerome Goldschmidt, medical oncologist at Blue Ridge Cancer Care and the ...

Keira Smith: Hi. I'm Keira Smith from Oncology Data Advisor. I'm here today with Allison Imahiyerobo. Allison Imahiyerobo: Hi Keira, my name is Alli Imahiyerobo. I'm a nurse practitioner, and I practice at Hematology Oncology Physicians of Englewood in New Jersey. I focus on both benign and malignant hematology. Keira Smith: What are some of the most challenging aspects of treating patients with immune thrombocytopenia, or ITP? Allison Imahiyerobo: I think that it's really twofold. The first cha...

With the opioid crisis claiming so many lives, physicians need to be especially careful prescribing these drugs. However, for many patients with cancer who are in a lot of pain, opioids can be a necessary part of treatment. So how can physicians determine predictors and frequency of opioid abuse in this population? A study now published in JAMA Oncology found that marital status, higher levels of pain, high scores on the Screener and Opioid Assessment for Patients with Pain (SOAPP), and morphine...

Patients aged 75 years and older face an increased risk of mortality and postoperative events when undergoing surgical treatment for cancer. In a study recently published in JAMA Network Open, a research team led by first author Armin Shahrokni, MD, MPH, found that patients whose care was managed by both the surgical and geriatric teams experienced significantly better outcomes compared with those whose care was provided by the surgical team alone. In this interview with i3 Health, Dr. Shahrokni...

In older patients with cancer undergoing surgical treatment, collaboration between surgical and geriatric teams significantly decreases 90-day postoperative mortality. Patients aged 75 years and older face unique challenges when undergoing cancer-related surgery, including an increased risk of adverse postoperative events, a heightened risk of delirium, difficulties in recovering mobility and functional activity, and the need for appropriate care after hospital discharge. However, collaboration ...

The stress of having cancer and the physical and financial toll of treatment can be difficult for patients, even under normal circumstances. During the COVID-19 pandemic, patients face additional stressors, including not only the fear of mortality from COVID-19 but also the emotional impact of isolation. This sense of isolation can be present even in patients' cancer care, as many appointments take place through videoconferencing and telephone calls; even when in-person appointmen...

Patients with cancer are at increased risk of infection with severe adult respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which causes COVID-19, according to a medical records review of patients with cancer at a hospital in Wuhan, China. "Patients with cancer from the epicenter of a viral epidemic harbored a higher risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection… compared with the community. However, fewer than half of these infected patients were undergoing active treatment for their cancers," note the investiga...

Acupuncture and acupressure for cancer pain are associated with decreased pain and reduced use of analgesics, according to a meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials now published in JAMA Oncology. Over 70% of patients with cancer experience pain. For almost half of these patients, that pain is not sufficiently controlled. Pharmacologic interventions can provide effective pain relief, but they can have adverse effects, and the use of opioids poses a substantial risk of addiction. In light of ...

Instead of cancer survivors feeling strong after combating cancer, many of them suffer from low self-esteem. This disease may negatively impact patients' thoughts and feelings towards themselves due to its effects on their physical and mental status. Previous studies have shown an association between practicing relaxation techniques and increased self-esteem, so researchers decided to test the impact of these relaxation techniques on cancer patients. For this study, published in Supportive Care ...

​In the treatment of multiple myeloma, supportive care is essential to mitigating the risks of infection and bone disease. However, a study published recently in Cancer by Smith Giri, MD, MHS, and colleagues found that guideline-recommended supportive care measures are underutilized in older patients with multiple myeloma. In this interview with i3 Health, Dr. Giri discusses supportive care for patients with myeloma, as well as interventions that could increase the use of these measures. Can you...

​Several facets of supportive care are important in multiple myeloma, including management of bone disease, thromboprophylaxis, and prevention of infectious disease. Appropriate supportive care measures have been outlined in well-established guidelines, but a new study reports that often, these are not followed. For this study, which has been published in Cancer, the researchers focused on three outcomes regarding guideline-recommended supportive care: the use of bone-modifying drugs (BMDs) with...

​A phase 3 clinical trial reports that two doses of the adjuvanted recombinant zoster vaccine reduce the incidence of herpes zoster, commonly known as shingles, following autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Patients receiving high-dose chemotherapy for certain types of malignancies, including multiple myeloma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma, acute myeloid leukemia, neuroblastoma, and germ cell tumors, are often administered autologous HSCT in order to replenish the...

​For patients with cancer, body image issues related to chemotherapy-induced hair loss can add to the stress of coping with their illness. To address this concern and help patients maintain their hair during chemotherapy, Lehigh Valley Health Network's Cancer Institute implemented a scalp cooling program. In this interview with i3 Health, Kerry Kluska, RN, MSN, OCN®, who served as a nurse and patient educator during the scalp cooling implementation, discusses the process involved in instituting ...

Patient education regarding the purpose and side effects of medications can be important to ensuring adherence and optimizing patient outcomes. However, it can be difficult for patients to absorb this information while experiencing an episode of acute illness, especially given the anxiety that can accompany a frightening diagnosis such as cancer. Margaret Highley, MSN, RN, OCN®, and members of the surgical oncology unit at The James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute at The Ohio State...

​According to a new study, telerehabilitation can help patients with advanced cancer by improving function and decreasing pain, length of hospital stay, and requirements for postacute care. Patients with advanced cancer can experience disabling losses of function that impact their quality of life and increase their use of health care services. In addition, impaired mobility can increase the frequency and length of hospital stays. Rehabilitation services and conditioning activities can help to re...

​Venous thromboembolism is the third most common vascular condition after heart attack and stroke, affecting between 300,000 and 600,000 individuals in the United States each year. Patients with active cancer are at increased risk, with a 9.6% chance of developing symptomatic thrombosis during the first six months of chemotherapy. In this interview with i3 Health, hematologist Philip Wells, MD, FRCPC, MSc, Chair and Chief of the Department of Medicine at the University of Ottawa and The Ottawa H...

​A team of Canadian researchers has found that apixaban reduces the occurrence of venous thromboembolism in cancer patients who are starting chemotherapy and are at intermediate to high risk for this condition. A blood clot that forms in the veins, venous thromboembolism is the third most common vascular condition after heart attack and stroke, affecting between 300,000 and 600,000 individuals in the United States each year. Patients with active cancer are at increased risk, with a 9.6% chance o...

​After a cancer diagnosis, nearly half of patients who smoke continue to do so, even though continued smoking can negatively impact the outcome of their disease. A team of researchers from Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine and the University of Pennsylvania's Abramson Cancer Center has found that lengthening patients' use of an anti-smoking medication can lead to better smoking cessation outcomes for those who adhere to the treatment. "With the stress cancer patients are unde...

A new study by researchers at Penn State College of Medicine has found that the suicide risk for patients with cancer is four times that of the general population. "Even though cancer is one of the leading causes of death in the United States, most cancer patients do not die from cancer; the patients usually die of another cause," commented Nicholas Zaorsky, MD, a radiation oncologist at Penn State Cancer Institute and first author of the study, which was published in Nature Communications. "The...

For survivors of breast cancer, lifestyle behaviors can have a significant impact on disease outcome. It is known that factors such as poor diet and lack of exercise can change tumor-associated biological pathways in ways that increase the risk of cancer's growth or recurrence. However, exactly how these biological pathways are affected by lifestyle factors has until now been unclear. To answer this question, researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina investigated the association be...