Current Issue
VOL 10 NO 5 • JULY 2019
This issue's cover illustration depicts the mechanism of action for carboplatin, a chemotherapy drug. The drug binds with repeating pairs of guanine causing a kink in the DNA and stopping replication. Of the platinum compounds, carboplatin has been reported to account for 0.73% of all reactions from infused chemotherapies, and up to 50% of all reactions in platinum-based chemotherapies. Artwork by Alexandra Webber Baker © 2019, DNA Illustrations, Inc., Asheville, North Carolina. EditorialPamela Hallquist Viale, RN, MS, CNS, ANPIn our last issue, I reported on the highlights from the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s (ASCO) Annual Report on Progress Against Cancer. As noted in the report, we’ve experienced tremendous advances in the care of our patients with cancer, with an approximate 25 years of decline in the o...
Original ResearchAndrew Garcia,(1) PharmD, Corey Frahm,(1) PharmD, Joanne M. Jeter,(2) MD, Ivo Abraham,(1) PhD, RN, Setsuko K. Chambers,(3) MD, Janiel M. Cragun,(3) MD, and Ali McBride,(1) PharmDMany antineoplastic agents have been known to cause hypersensitivity reactions (HSRs). The incidences of HSRs are highly variable within and between all major categories of antineoplastic drugs (DeMoor et al., 2011). Of the platinum compounds, carboplatin has been reported to account for 0.73% of...
Quality ImprovementBetty Ferrell,(1) PhD, RN, MA, FAAN, FPCN, CHPN, Kate Kravits,(1) MA, RN, HNB-BS, LPC, NCC, ATR-BC, Tami Borneman,(1) RN, MSN, CNS, FPCN, Sumanta K. Pal,(1) MD, and Janet Lee,(2) EdMAdvanced practitioners (APs) in oncology spend significant time communicating with and supporting family caregivers. The family caregiver’s role has become increasingly important as cancer care has shifted from inpatient to home-based care. Family caregivers are the primary providers of cancer ca...
Quality ImprovementElizabeth B. McGrath, DNP, APRN, AGACNP-BC, AOCNP®, ACHPN, Anna Schaal, MSN, APRN, and Claire Pace, MSN, APRNThe number of patients surviving a cancer diagnosis continues to increase. Cancer survivorship reached nearly 15.5 million people in 2014, and this is projected to increase to over 20 million by 2026 (National Cancer Institute, 2016). Although improved survival is an exciting and much desired out...
Review ArticleYi L. Hwa, DNP,(1) Teresa Fogaren, MSN, AGNP-C,(2) Allison Sams, AGPCNP-BC,(3) Douglas V. Faller, MD, PhD,(4) Dawn M. Stull, PharmD, BCOP,(5) Sara Thuenemann, RN, MSN, DHSc,(6) and Lisa Mendelson, MSN, AGPCNP-BC(7)Systemic immunoglobulin light-chain (AL) amyloidosis is caused by plasma cell clones in the bone marrow (median 7%–10% marrow infiltration) that produce insoluble, misfolded immunoglobulin light chain proteins, which are deposited in various tissues and organs as amyloid fibrils leading to progre...
Grand RoundsKimberly D. Allman,(1) CNP, Joanne C. Ryan,(2) PhD, RN, Andrew Clair,(2) PhD, and Sarah Yenser-Wood,(3) NPAn estimated 73,820 patients in the United States will be diagnosed with renal cell carcinoma (RCC) in 2019 (National Cancer Institute, 2019), and up to 40% of RCC patients will eventually experience progression to metastatic disease (Ferlay et al., 2015; Znaor Lortet-Tieulent, Laversanne, Jemal,...
Prescriber's CornerShelby L. Merchant, PharmD, Kathryn Culos, PharmD, BCOP, and Houston Wyatt, PharmD, CSPAcute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a hematologic malignancy originating from abnormal proliferation of immature hematopoietic cells in the bone marrow. Patient age, performance status, molecular markers, and cytogenetics determine risk stratification and prognosis. Approximately two thirds of patien...
Prescriber's CornerUrvi J. Patel, PharmD, MPH, and Sarah Caulfield, PharmD, BCOPProstate cancer is a male-specific oncologic disease that is one of the top four leading causes of cancer in the United States, which is evidenced by an incidence rate of 9.9% of all new cancer cases in 2019 (National Cancer Institute, 2019). It is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in males, wit...
