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Theranostics—using diagnostic tools like positron emission tomography (PET), computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with therapies like chemotherapy, gene therapy, radiation, and more—is experiencing its moment in the spotlight. Advancements in molecular imaging techniques have led to more precise identification of complex biologic processes. When radiologists add artificial intelligence (AI) to the mix, they can analyze images like never before.

Approximately 125,000 cancer cases were potentially missed in 2020 because of disruptions to cancer care services during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers reported in new study findings. Published in JAMA Network Open, the study showed that cancer incidence rates rebounded to projected levels in 2021, but the increase did not account for the 2020 deficit. 

BRCA1 and BRCA2 are tumor suppressor genes that are part of the homologous recombination repair pathway, which repairs double-stranded DNA breaks.The BRCA1 gene is located on chromosome 17 and the BRCA2 gene is found on chromosome 13. Pathogenic variants in BRCA1 and BRCA2 lead to HRR deficiency, resulting in genomic instability and uncontrolled cell growth and malignancy. 

For many patients and caregivers, pets are integral members of the family and can serve as a source of comfort and support during the cancer journey. In an article published in the Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing, Carrie Y. Chong, MSN, CRNP, used a case study to demonstrate how oncology nurses practice holistic, patient-centered care by standardizing assessing patients for pets at home, educating patients about how to safely care for their pets during cancer, and providing psychosocial support when treatment requires them to be away from their pets.

Docetaxel (Taxotere^®) is a microtubule inhibitor approved in 1996 and has been used for a variety of cancers, including breast, non-small cell lung, prostate, gastric, and head and neck. Docetaxel can cause severe hypersensitivity reactions, including fatal anaphylaxis. Close monitoring for hypersensitivity and premedication with corticosteroids to prevent hypersensitivity reaction is required.

By 2050, cancer incidence and death rates are expected to triple in countries with a low Human Development Index, researchers reported in findings from a cross-sectional study of 2022 diagnosis and death rates in 36 cancer types across 185 countries and territories. Overall, cancer cases and deaths are expected to rise by 77% and 90% in 2050, the researchers wrote in JAMA Network Open.

From WashingtonPost.com: Cervical cancer deaths among individuals younger than 25 have plummeted in recent years, the likely result of vaccinating adolescents against human papillomavirus, or HPV, high-risk strains of which cause the cancer, researchers said. “This is a huge public-health success story,” said Ashish Deshmukh, co-leader of the cancer prevention and control research program at the Medical University of South Carolina’s Hollings Cancer Center and senior author of research recently published in JAMA Network. “Vaccination is the only explanation for this startling and substantial decline.” 

Life can feel valuable and finite after a cancer diagnosis. In an instant, plans change, and questions, needs, and challenges arise. Without the right answers and support, the diagnosis can be daunting, frustrating, and overwhelming.

Since 1975, the United States has avoided nearly 6 million deaths from five common cancer types—80% of which were because of advancements in prevention and screening strategies, according to study results from National Cancer Institute (NCI) researchers that were published in JAMA Oncology.

From HHS.gov: The surgeon general released a new report on health disparities related to tobacco use, which reports that despite the nation’s substantial progress in reducing cigarette smoking and secondhand smoke exposure in the overall U.S. population, that progress has not been equal for all population groups. Disparities in tobacco use persist by race and ethnicity, income, education, sexual orientation and gender identity, occupation, geography, behavioral health status, and other factors. Additionally, cigarette smoking and secondhand smoke exposure continue to cause nearly half a million deaths a year in the United States—nearly one in five of all deaths.