Feature article: Zurich Lung Cancer Preceptorship

This issue of the Nursing Clinics of North America focuses on the expanding knowledge of oncology nursing. The science of cancer, the disease, is expanding at an unprecedented pace producing knowledge that is unparalleled in its complexity. Nurses caring for oncology patients require specialized knowledge to care for their patients safely. The articles in this edition include cutting-edge information written by authors who practice in corresponding settings. The articles are devoted to Oncology Genomics: Implications for Oncology/Cancer Nurses; Informatics; Evidence-Based Practice in Oncology Nursing; Brain Cancer and Family Caregiving; Symptom Management and Palliative Care for Patients with Cancer; Lung Cancer and Tobacco: What’s New; Health Disparities; Changes in Cancer Treatment: Nibs and Mabs; Clinical Trials and the Role of the Oncology Clinical Research Nurse Cancer Survivorship; and Oral Chemotherapeutic Agents.

In this first authoritative overview on modern cancer chemotherapy 121 international specialists have contributed their experience and recent data for what is likely to become the gold standard in the field. The authors summarize knowledge gained over the past decade, from basic concepts to successful applications in the clinic, covering active and passive targeting strategies as well as tissue-specific approaches. All current and future targeted delivery systems are discussed, from ligand-based to antibody-based polymer-based systems, right up to micro- and nanoparticulate systems. A special section covers the delivery of nucleic acid therapeutics, such as siRNA, miRNA and antisense nucleotides. In each case, a description of the basic technique is followed by a discussion of the latest preclinical and clinical developments in the field. By virtue of its clear and didactic structure, rich illustrative material and summary chapters, this handbook and ready reference enables the efficient transfer of knowledge between different disciplines, from basic research to the clinician and vice versa. It is equally well suited for professionals, researchers and students in medical oncology and cancer biology, and is also excellent for teaching medical students the foundations of 21st century cancer chemotherapy.

Cancer is a multifaceted disease and overwhelmingly increasing experimental evidence has helped us to develop a deeper understanding of the role of signal transduction cascades in cancer development and progression. Tissue microarrays and next generation sequencing technologies have assisted us to gather missing pieces of jigsaw puzzle and we now know that deregulation of spatio-temporally controlled signaling cascades play fundamental role in metastasis and resistance against wide ranging therapeutics. This book offers a balanced overview of the rapidly emerging cutting edge research in molecular oncology and good source of knowledge for established oncologists, basic and medical students and pharmaceutical industry associated R&D departments.

This report addresses the latest trends in cancer incidence and mortality in the EU and reviews key cancer risk factors, cancer screening programmes and early diagnoses, and issues in the provision of high-quality cancer care.

Circulatory conditions are involved both in the oncologic disease itself and in its treatment, with a direct impact on therapeutic planning for patients. At the same time, it goes without saying that cancer and its treatment affect the circulatory system, be it arterial, venous or lymphatic. This book explores the interface between vascular surgery and the various clinical and surgical oncological specialties, highlighting which types of neoplasm are most common and focusing on those that more frequently cause or are influenced by vascular diseases. The diagnostic procedures for these tumors and the most suitable types of treatment are also discussed. The content is divided into three sections: I – Surgical Oncology, II – Clinical Oncology and Oncohematology, and III – Vascular and Endovascular Surgery. The first section presents the most common types of tumor in each surgical oncology specialty, and the most frequent tumors associated with vascular complications. The diagnosis, staging, prognosis and oncological treatments are discussed, while associated vascular complications, such as vascular invasion, venous thrombosis, and arterial thrombosis, are described. The second section focuses on general aspects of Clinical Oncology and Oncohematology in addition to the most frequent vascular complications related to solid and hematological cancers and its treatment (chemotherapy, radiotherapy, bone marrow transplantation). The third section includes a more detailed approach to vascular events and diseases commonly found in cancer patients, in addition to technical discussions regarding vascular reconstructions associated with tumor resection, vascular access, among other topics. At the end of each chapter, the editors comment and highlight the most important challenges for vascular surgeons who dedicate their lives to treating cancer patients. Given its scope, the book offers a valuable resource for medical specialists and professionals in training in the fields of vascular surgery and angiology, clinical oncology, oncohematology and surgical oncology.

Communication is a core skill for medical professionals when treating patients, and cancer and palliative care present some of the most challenging clinical situations. This book provides a comprehensive curriculum to help oncology specialists optimize their communication skills.

The idea of combining drugs and diagnostics in oncology is not new. When the selective estrogen receptor modulator tamoxifen was developed in the 1970’s for the treatment of breast cancer a positive correlation between receptor status and treatment outcome was found. As a result of this research, it was suggested to use the estrogen-receptor assay as a diagnostic test for selection of patients for tamoxifen treatment. Despite this suggestion was put forward nearly 40 years ago the adaptation of the drug-diagnostic co-development model has been relatively slow and it is only within the last decade that it has gained more widespread acceptance. The parallel development of the monoclonal antibody trastuzumab (Herceptin®, Roche/Genentech) and the immunohistochemistry assay for HER2 protein overexpression (HercepTest™, Dako) seems to have served as an inspiration to a number of stakeholders such as pharma and diagnostic companies, regulatory agencies, and academia. In recent years we have seen an increasing number of oncology drug development projects that have taken advantage of the drug-diagnostic co-development model, as outline below. Most of the new targeted anti-cancer drugs that have been introduced in recent years, such as BRAF-, ALK-, EGFR- and HER2-inhibitors, are more or less all a product of the drugdiagnostic co-development model. These drugs have shown remarkable high response rates in selected groups of patients within cancer diseases with great unmet medical needs. This Research Topic on Drug-Diagnostic Co-Development in Oncology aims to provide you with an insight into some of the diverse activities that constitute this new research area.

This book covers multi-scale biomechanics for oncology, ranging from cells and tissues to whole organ. Topics covered include, but not limited to, biomaterials in mechano-oncology, non-invasive imaging techniques, mechanical models of cell migration, cancer cell mechanics, and platelet-based drug delivery for cancer applications. This is an ideal book for graduate students, biomedical engineers, and researchers in the field of mechanobiology and oncology. This book also: Describes how mechanical properties of cancer cells, the extracellular matrix, tumor microenvironment and immuno-editing, and fluid flow dynamics contribute to tumor progression and the metastatic process Provides the latest research on non-invasive imaging, including traction force microscopy and brillouin confocal microscopy Includes insight into NCIs’ role in supporting biomechanics in oncology research Details how biomaterials in mechano-oncology can be used as a means to tune materials to study cancer