Moving Forward With Cancer Screenings, Evolving Therapies, and Oncology Trends

Many cancer screenings have been neglected or postponed throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Now is the time to have those overlooked screenings scheduled for yourself, your family, and your patients. A swab screening for cervical cancer is one example.

This month, our cover story looks at cervical and other cancers affecting women, such as ovarian, and uterine cancers, including endometrial.
Author Jennifer Gershman, PharmD, CPh, discusses how innovative treatment options and new screening guidelines are transforming diagnosis and management of these gynecological cancers, starting on page 30.

Our coverage extends to evolving therapies in the oncology pipeline. Olaparib, a recently studied PARP inhibitor, is showing promise as a maintenance therapy for ovarian cancer (page 10).

On page 18, author Karen Berger, PharmD, discusses treatment of endometrial cancer. Her article provides an overview of the disease and insight on the pharmacist’s role in patient care.

This issue of Directions in Oncology Pharmacy® also features highlights from the Hematology/Oncology Pharmacists (HOPA) Association Annual Conference 2021. The meeting offered information on clinical studies and therapies in the pipeline for hematologic cancers, as well as oncology pharmacy practice trends, including those guided by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Directions in Oncology Pharmacy® editorial team covered a number
of virtual HOPA conference sessions and some of those recaps are included in this issue. Among the topics addressed at the meeting were those focusing on oncology pharmacy practice trends, some of which are being seen in other health care spaces.

Our HOPA coverage includes articles on workplace burnout among hematology/oncology pharmacists, on page 26; and home-based intravenous therapies, on page 27. These trends, in some cases, can be tied to how pharmacists have been practicing during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Summer is almost here, and with the pandemic showing signs of slowing down, we hope you are out and enjoying fresh air in the coming months. But don’t forget to schedule those cancer screenings.

Thank you for reading.