Expanding Leadership and Professional Development Opportunities for Oncology Nurse Practitioners.

Nurse practitioner (NP) involvement in professional organizations improves clinical practice, patient outcomes, and health care policy. Results of a survey for a local professional nursing organization showed a need for more NP-level education and NP mentorship and leadership training. Findings were applied to develop a leadership initiative through an NP-led continuing education program. At the conclusion of the program, NP presenters completed a survey. The NP presenters agreed that participating in this program and the mentoring that was provided helped them prepare for their sessions, improve their leadership skills, and prepare for additional speaking engagements. Additionally, each session's attendees completed evaluation surveys. Results from program attendees indicated a high level of agreement about meeting learning objectives in sessions and the effectiveness of the NP presenters. This innovative program may be modeled across a variety of nursing specialties, settings, and organizations to enhance NP professional development and support nursing-led continuing education. [J Contin Educ Nurs. 2024;55(2):94-100.].

Barriers and facilitators to the engagement of physical activity among Black and African American cancer survivors during and after treatments.

PURPOSE: To identify physical activity (PA) barriers and facilitators among Black and African American (Black/AA) cancer survivors that should be considered in future PA intervention development for this population. METHODS: A community advisory board (CAB) of Black/AA cancer survivors and patient advocates guided in-depth qualitative interviews (n = 19) that were completed via telephone using a semi-structured interview guide. Interviews were transcribed verbatim, and data were analyzed using directed content analysis to detail a report of PA barriers and facilitators during and after cancer treatment. The CAB reviewed and interpreted these barriers and facilitators to identify the final results. RESULTS: Survivors (n = 19) of nine different types of cancer completed interviews. PA barriers during cancer treatments included physical and psychological suffering. PA barriers after cancer treatments included social and environmental constraints (e.g., lack of access needed for PA, safety concerns, and competing priorities). PA facilitators both during and after cancer treatments included family support, faith, and support from other survivors. PA facilitators during treatment also included feeling better after doing PA, setting realistic and flexible goals, and gaining a sense of control of one's health by striving for PA goals. CONCLUSIONS: To increase PA among Black/AA cancer survivors, PA interventions are needed that address structural barriers, include the role of faith, leverage family support, highlight the psychological benefits of PA, and use goal setting.

Phase II Single-Arm Study of Palbociclib and Cetuximab Rechallenge in Patients with KRAS/NRAS/BRAF Wild-Type Colorectal Cancer.

BACKGROUND: Cetuximab is often administered to patients with KRAS wild-type (KRAS-WT) metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC), although resistance inevitably develops. We hypothesized that co-inhibition of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) with cetuximab and downstream cyclin-dependent kinases (CDK) 4/6 with palbociclib would be effective for anti-EGFR rechallenge in KRAS-WT mCRC. METHODS: We designed a single-arm, Simon's 2-stage, phase II trial of cetuximab and palbociclib in KRAS-WT mCRC treated with ≥2 prior lines of therapy. We report here on cohort B rechallenging patients with anti-EGFR-based therapy who had disease control of at least 4 months on prior anti-EGFR therapy. Primary endpoint was disease control rate (DCR) at 4 months. RESULTS: Ten evaluable patients were enrolled in this cohort. The 4-month DCR was 20%, which did not fulfill the prespecified 4-month DCR rate to continue. Median progression-free survival was 1.8 months and median overall survival was 6.6 months. Three patients had stable disease, although overall response rate was 0%. Most common treatment-related grades 3-4 adverse events were lymphopenia and leukopenia. CONCLUSION: Selection of patients for anti-EGFR rechallenge using clinical criteria alone was insufficient to identify response to palbociclib + cetuximab. Additional biomarkers are needed to select anti-EGFR rechallenge and circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) analysis is planned for samples collected in this study. (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03446157).

Physical Activity: A Systematic Review to Inform Nurse Recommendations During Treatment for Colorectal Cancer.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common cancer in the world (American Cancer Society [ACS], 2021). Because of increasing survival rates, there is a need improve survivors' quality of life (QOL), physical functioning, recurrence risk, and comorbidity prevalence (ACS, 2020). Many patients with CRC have poor QOL during and after treatment; other common side effects include fatigue, depression, anxiety, and decreased sleep quality (Bourke et al., 2014; Cramer et al., 2014; Gao et al., 2020). Focusing on the treatment period is important because physical activity (PA) may decrease side effects and prevent PA decline and functional decline, both of which can become significant barriers to PA following treatment. In addition, patients with CRC have a higher rate of comorbidities than patients without cancer, making lifestyle changes pre- and post-treatment particularly important for their continued survival and QOL (ACS, 2020).

Risk stratification and outreach to hematology/oncology patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.

PURPOSE: Cancer patients have many medical and psychosocial needs, which may increase during the COVID-19 pandemic. We sought to (1) risk-stratify hematology/oncology patients using general medicine and cancer-specific methods to identify those at high risk for acute care utilization, (2) measure the correlation between two risk stratification methods, and (3) perform a telephone-based needs assessment with intervention for high-risk patients. METHODS: Patients were risk-stratified using a general medical health composite score (HCS) and a cancer-specific risk (CSR) stratification based on disease and treatment characteristics. The correlation between HCS and CSR was measured using Spearman's correlation. A multi-disciplinary team developed a focused needs assessment script with recommended interventions for patients categorized as high-risk by either method. The number of patient needs identified and referrals for services made in the first month of outreach are reported. RESULTS: A total of 1697 patients were risk-stratified, with 17% high-risk using HCS and 22% high-risk using CSR. Correlation between HCS and CSR was modest (ρ = 0.41). During the first month of the pilot, 286 patients were called for outreach with 245 contacted (86%). Commonly identified needs were financial difficulties (17%), uncontrolled symptoms (15%), and interest in advance care planning (13%), resulting in referral for supportive services for 33% of patients. CONCLUSION: There is a high burden of unmet medical and psychosocial needs in hematology/oncology patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. A telephone-based outreach program results in the identification of and intervention for these needs; however, additional cancer-specific risk models are needed to improve targeting to high-risk patients.

Implementing survivorship care plans for colon cancer survivors

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the feasibility, usability, and satisfaction of a survivorship care plan (SCP) and identify the optimum time for its delivery during the first 12 months after diagnosis. DESIGN: Prospective, descriptive, single-arm study. SETTING: A National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center in the southeastern United States. SAMPLE: 28 nonmetastatic colon cancer survivors within the first year of diagnosis and their primary care physicians (PCPs). METHODS: Regular screening identified potential participants who were followed until treatment ended. An oncology certified nurse developed the JourneyForward™ SCP, which then was delivered to the patient by the oncology nurse practitioner (NP) during a routine follow-up visit and mailed to the PCP. MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES: Time to complete, time to deliver, usability, and satisfaction with the SCP. FINDINGS: During one year, 75 patients were screened for eligibility, 34 SCPs were delivered, and 28 survivors and 15 PCPs participated in the study. It took an average of 49 minutes to complete a surgery SCP and 90 minutes to complete a surgery plus chemotherapy SCP. Most survivors identified that before treatment ended or within the first three months was the preferred time to receive an SCP. CONCLUSIONS: The SCPs were well received by the survivors and their PCPs, but were too time and labor intensive to track and complete. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING: More work needs to be done to streamline processes that identify eligible patients and to develop and implement SCPs. Measuring outcomes will be needed to demonstrate whether SCPs are useful or not.