Articles about cancer, treatment and medications

Educational articles on issues relevant to oncology nursing practice.

A Review of Treatments for Patients with Metastatic Melanoma Introduction Melanoma is a rare but deadly form of skin cancer. The incidence of melanoma is on the rise, and is in fact increasing faster than any other cancer in the United States. In 2008, there will be an estimated 62,480 new cases of invasive...
ASCO 2008: An Update for Nurses ASCO 2008: An Update for Nurses Every year, at the American Society for Clinical Oncology annual meeting, physicians present findings from research studies that change or clarify the way we treat patients with cancer. Unfortunately, nurses...
Chemotherapy-Induced Anemia in Cancer Patients Introduction The majority of cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy develop anemia during their treatment (Kitano et al., 2007). The European Cancer Anaemia Survey (ECAS), a study conducted across 24 nations in Europe, reported that about 83% of...
Dose-Dense Chemotherapy Dose-dense chemotherapy (DDC) is a concept of chemotherapy administration that is being used more and more. Understanding DDC requires an understanding of tumor cell replication and growth, sometimes referred to as the Gompertzian growth curve. This...
Early Stage Lung Cancer Treatment Options
Erectile Dysfunction in Cancer Patients This continuing education activity is designed for nurses in clinical practice to learn about the nursing management and treatment of cancer patients experiencing erectile dysfunction. This activity has been approved for 1.1 contact hours.
Graft Versus Host Disease: A Learning Module for Nurses What is graft-versus-host disease (GVHD)? GVHD is a process in which donor T-cells "attack" the host cells, manifesting primarily in skin, liver and gastrointestinal complications. It is a frequent complication of allogeneic hematopoetic...
Ixabepilone: an Epothilone for the treatment of Metastatic Breast Cancer Introduction Breast cancer is the most common cancer affecting women in the United States. It was estimated that 178,480 women would be diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007 with approximately 2,030 cases diagnosed in men. Breast cancer ranks...
Management of Chemotherapy Induced Cognitive Impairment This continuing education activity is designed for nurses in clinical practice to learn about the nursing management and treatment of patients experiencing Chemotherapy Induced Cognitive Impairment. This activity has been approved for 1.1 contact hours.
Management of Chemotherapy-Induced Diarrhea Clinical Significance Diarrhea is a common side effect of chemotherapy, especially for patients with advanced cancer. The incidence of chemotherapy-induced diarrhea (CID) has been reported as 50-80% of treated patients (Stein, Voigt & Jordan,...
Management of Chemotherapy-Induced Dysgeusia Clinical Significance Dysgeusia is an alteration in taste and is associated with ageusia, which is the complete lack of taste, and hypogeusia, which is the decrease in taste sensitivity. Dysgeusia is a common complaint of patients undergoing...
Management of Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea and Vomiting Clinical Significance Chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting continues to have a great impact on the quality of life of patients receiving some anti-neoplastic therapies (Cohen, de Moor, Eisenberg, Ming, and Hu, 2007). CINV can be defined as acute...
Management of Dyspnea in Cancer Patients Clinical Significance For the oncology nurse, it is common to care for a patient who has a complaint of shortness of breath. This symptom, also known as dyspnea, is often significantly distressing and is a frequent complication of primary or...
Management of Palmar Plantar Erythrodysesthesia This continuing education activity is designed for nurses in clinical practice to learn about the nursing management and treatment of patients experiencing Palmar Plantar Erythrodysesthesia. This activity has been approved for 1.0 contact hours.
Management of Radiation Induced Xerostomia Clinical Significance Xerostomia describes both the subjective sensation of oral dryness and the objective reduction in salivary function. Most oncology patients experience oral dryness, at least temporarily during the trajectory of their illness and...
Management of Radiodermatitis Clinical Significance Radiation therapy is a core treatment modality for many types of cancer. Approximately 75% of oncology patients will receive radiation therapy as a component of curative or palliative care (American Society for Radiation...
New Perspectives in Oncology Practice
Nursing Management of Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy Overview of Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy (CIPN) Neuropathy is an irritation or damage to nerves, which causes poor “communication” between nerves; it can affect motor, sensory and/or autonomic nerves. Certain chemotherapy...
Nursing Management of Patients Receiving EGFR Inhibitors What are EGFR Inhibitors? Treatments for cancer have traditionally focused on chemotherapy agents that damage DNA within a cell at various stages of cell development, resulting in cell death. Chemotherapy agents are associated with toxic side...
Nursing Management of Patients with Cancer-Related Anorexia Introduction Anorexia is the loss of appetite or inability to eat. Many cancer patients experience this prior to diagnosis and during treatment of the disease. Approximately 50% of patients with a new diagnosis of cancer have reported experiencing...
OncoLink News Flash
Osteonecrosis of the Jaw and Bisphosphonates Cancer and Bone Invasion Tumors that have invaded the bones cause the bone to wear away, leaving small holes, called osteolytic lesions. This process of bone erosion is called resorption and leaves bones weak and fragile. Tumors can also stimulate...
Predicting Cancer Recurrence The American Cancer Society estimates 178,000 new cases of breast cancer in the United States in 2007. The large majority of these patients will have localized or lymph node negative, locally advanced disease. These patients are frequently treated...
Sleep Disturbances and Cancer Introduction It is estimated that nearly 45% of oncology patients experience sleep disturbances; this is nearly three times the estimate of its occurrence in the general population (National Cancer Institute, 2010). Sleep problems can be both...
Spinal Cord Compression Incidence and Epidemiology Estimates suggest that 2-5% of cancer patients have at least one episode of spinal cord compression (SCC) during the last 2 years of life. Rates vary drastically depending on the primary tumor type; the more likely a...
Superior Vena Cava Syndrome Superior vena cava syndrome (SVCS) was traditionally considered an oncologic emergency, but only rarely does it present as a truly life-threatening emergency. This condition typically develops over days to weeks, with subtle symptoms at an early...
The Effect of Breast Cancer Treatments on Sexuality In Premenopausal Female Cancer Survivors Introduction Sexuality is a complex process coordinated by the body through its vascular, endocrine and neurologic systems. It also incorporates a wide spectrum of external factors, such as familial, societal and religious beliefs, health status and...
Tumor Lysis Syndrome Tumor lysis syndrome (TLS) is a life-threatening oncologic emergency characterized by metabolic abnormalities that can occur during rapid tumor breakdown in response to anti-cancer treatment. The nurse should have an understanding of which patients...