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Patient navigation is playing an increasingly vital role in guiding patients with breast cancer through the maze of the American healthcare system. The Patient Navigation Initiative is a pioneering project of Susan G. Komen of Greater New York City focused on helping women overcome barriers to care, which leads to improved outcomes.

Incorporating patient navigation into cancer care makes good business sense. This is the second in a series of articles about of patient navigation.

Eighty percent of hospitalized patients in the U.S. have access to palliative care services. But that means that 20% do not. For patients with cancer, this can potentially mean the difference between effective symptom management and end-of-life care, and inadequate usual care.

Empathy and cultural sensitivity enable navigators to be effective champions for patients with cancer. This is the third in a series of articles about patient navigation.

The LivingWith app helps patients connect with a close circle of contacts and enables them to ask for help with daily tasks, track their symptoms, and collect important documents and information from appointments.

William C. Huang, MD, discusses the transition from open cystectomy to minimally invasive robotic-assisted surgery in the management of muscle-invasive bladder cancer.

Based on findings from the phase III LATITUDE trial, the Food and Drug Adminstration has approved abiraterone acetate (Zytiga) for use in high-risk patients with castration-sensitive prostate cancer.

To ensure the adequate availability of IV solutions that may be in high demand during the flu season, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) extended the expiration dates of some IV products after Baxter, a major IV solution manufacturer, submitted safety data that indicated that extended expiration dates meet FDA safety standards.

The Canines and Childhood Cancer Study – the first and largest randomized, controlled clinical trial to measure the effects of animal-assisted therapy in the field of pediatric oncology – recently showed significant benefits to families in a time of great need.

According to results from an analysis of the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database of the National Cancer Institute, older adults with colorectal cancer are more likely to develop cardiovascular disease and congestive heart failure.

Changes in cognitive function, or chemobrain, are common among patients who survive breast cancer. However, limited efforts have been put in to understanding or managing these cognitive changes in survivors. Now, there is a web site that can help with just that.

Exercise plays an important role in lymphoma survivorship, a recent study shows.

Researchers have recently discovered that immunotherapy agents have potential to effectively treat desmoplastic melanoma, even though the dense tissue associated with this rare cancer would seem to preclude it.

Immunotherapy alone has not shown much success in treating ovarian cancer, despite success with other cancers, so researchers are now testing combinations of immunotherapy drugs with other agents to see if it enhances effectiveness.

Some underprivileged and minority groups are underrepresented in lung cancer clinical trials, which can affect how and whether they receive appropriate care.

The first large, multicenter trial to investigate the effect of acupuncture in treating aromatase inhibitor-induced joint symptoms in women with breast cancer reported a statistically significant reduction in pain with acupuncture use.

Trastuzumab (Herceptin) did not reduce cardiac function in women with node-positive, HER2-positive, early-stage breast cancer, according a study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Based on impressive results from the phase III NETTER-1 trial, the FDA has approved Lutathera (lutetium [177Lu] oxodotreotide) for the treatment of patients with somatostatin receptor-positive gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs).

The common skin cream fluorouacil 5%, when applied for 2 to 4 weeks, has been shown to reduce the risk for squamous cell carcinoma for up to a year, according to a study published in JAMA Dermatology.

Oral mucositis is a common, sometimes debilitating side effect of cancer treatment. There is hope, however, in the form of a drug now in development, that could significantly treat and reduce it.

The year 2017 saw significant advancements in the field of bladder cancer treatment. Five Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approvals for checkpoint inhibitors in both the first and second line setting opened up the immunotherapy landscape, and more develoments are on the way.

There is a growing subgroup of people with cancer who have survived a prior cancer. Often, these patients are excluded from clinical trials and underrepresented in research, researchers noted.

Researchers conducted a meta-analysis of data from 61 studies to determine whether people who stay up all night for work have an increased risk of developing cancer.

Daratumumab (Darzalex) in combination with bortezomib (Velcade), melphalan, and prednisone (VMP), has been granted a priority review designation by the FDA for patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma who are ineligible for autologous stem cell transplant.

The oldest known cases of multiple myeloma and breast cancer have been discovered in two Egyptian mummies which were found in the pharaonic necropolis of Qubbet el-Hawa in Aswan, Egypt.

Impressive overall survival (OS) data from the phase III ENDEAVOR trial inspired the FDA to approve a supplemental new drug application to add it to the label for carfilzomib (Kyprolis) for use in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma.

Results of a large study showed that postmenopausal women who lost 5% or more of their body weight were 12% less likely to develop breast cancer than those whose weight remained stable; those who lost 15% or more reduced their risk by 37%.