2020    The Hemostasis Study Group (HSG) presents a list of its most recent publications (list updated November 2020). Click here for the full list. The HSG keeps up with current guidelines regarding treating cancer patients with bleeding and clotting problems related to their disease; they evaluate current guidelines for merit and deficiencies in providing adequate treatment to cancer patients with coagulation problems; they promote multinational and multidisciplinary cooperative networks among those involved in the care of cancer patients with thrombotic and bleeding complications; and they focus on anticoagulation treatment and quality of life in cancer patients in different settings during the cancer journey.

2020    Throughout the year, we will share articles from the MASCC journal Supportive Care in Cancer. The “Editor’s Pick” section, chosen by the journal’s Editor-In-Chief, Dr. Fred Ashbury, PhD, will cover a variety of topics to meet the many interests of our membership.

2020    MASCC presents a collection of 2020 clinical practice recommendations for the management of immune-mediated adverse events from checkpoint inhibitors. These recommendations are focused on patients with the most severe toxicities and provide an important international resource and reference in helping improve the management of these presentations.

2020    Earlier this year, MASCC invited you to recruit and mentor one or more new MASCC members through a new initiative, the Buddy Membership Program. This program was designed to increase our membership and to also to help new members get involved in MASCC activities and take advantage of all our membership benefits.

2020    Updated clinical practice guidelines for managing mucositis, a very common and often debilitating complication of cancer therapy, was recently published with open access in the journal Cancer. Patients experiencing mucositis often require enteral or parenteral nutrition, consume more opioids, and experience more interruptions to cancer therapy than patients who do not experience mucositis.

2020    The Hemostasis Study Group (HSG) presents a list of its most recent publications (list updated July 2020).  Click here for the full list.  The HSG keeps up with current guidelines regarding treating cancer patients with bleeding and clotting problems related to their disease; they evaluate current guidelines for merit and deficiencies in providing adequate treatment to cancer patients with coagulation problems; they promote multinational and multidisciplinary cooperative networks among those involved in the care of cancer patients with thrombotic and bleeding complications; and they focus on anticoagulation treatment and quality of life in cancer patients in different settings during the cancer journey.

2020    Andrew Davies, MB BS, MSc, MD, FRCP, took office as MASCC's new President in June, succeeding Rajesh Lalla, DDS, PhD, who has served as President since June 2018. Andrew is a Consultant in Palliative Medicine at the Royal Surrey County Hospital (St. Luke’s Cancer Centre) in Guildford in the United Kingdom. He is a longstanding member of MASCC and has served as a Board Member, the Chair of the Palliative Care study group, and Chair of the Annual Meeting in San Francisco (2019) and Seville (2020/2021).

2020    MASCC’s Survivorship Study Group invites healthcare professionals involved in the care of cancer patients to share their experiences and perceptions regarding patient-reported outcomes (PROs) in a 10-minute online survey. The Study Group is investigating oncology practitioners' current strategies and experiences in applying PROs in clinical practice, performance measurement, and research. The aims are (1) to explore practitioners’ experiences and perceptions on the use of PROs in routine clinical care at the patient level and (2) to assess the value of PROs as a performance or quality-of-care indicator at the system level. This study has been approved by the Institutional Review Boards of Chinese University of Hong Kong, and the Edith Cowan University, Western Australia.

2020    MASCC announces the Study Group Leadership changes for 2020/2022. For the full roster of study group leaders, visit individual study groups on the MASCC website.  Be sure to stay in touch with your Study Groups and get involved in their projects. It's the best way to take full advantage of your MASCC membership and work with like-minded colleagues around the world. Contact Study Group Coordinator Leslie Johnson for more information.

2020    This month, we are sharing a recent article published by MASCC members in the MASCC journal Supportive Care in Cancer. With the rapidly changing and evolving practice in managing COVID-19, MASCC would like to share information on our members’ professional experiences amongst our community. If you are interested and able to share your professional experiences, advice and advancements during this time of international crisis, we will find a convenient time in your schedule for a brief 30-minute interview. Please contact Angela Perez today at [email protected].

2020    As I write these words, there are 3 million cases of COVID-19 infections around the world and every MASCC member has been directly or indirectly affected by the pandemic.  Labs have closed, elective surgical lists were stopped, and work from home began as did home schooling of small children. Cancer work never really stops, not even in the time of the pandemic.  That work evolves rapidly and the pandemic has presented us, the cancer clinicians and researchers, with urgent and significant challenges.  And with many questions: “How do we deliver care safely?” “Whose treatment is no longer safe?” “What research can continue and how?”

2020    Digital health — the use of technology to improve health and healthcare — is a simple concept, but a broad field that encompasses telehealth and telemedicine, health information technology, mobile health, and personalized medicine. One of its prime aims and benefits is the empowerment of all individuals to make better-informed health decisions by providing accurate and appropriate information as well as options for prevention, early diagnosis, and disease management outside traditional healthcare settings. Digital health products include mobile medical apps, decision support software, wearable devices, and more.

2019    Karen Mustian, PhD, MS, MPH, ACSM, FSBM, received this year’s Debra Sivesind Career Award at the 23rd Annual Interdisciplinary Conference on Supportive Care, Hospice and Palliative Medicine, held October 18-19, 2019 at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. The Debra Sivesind Career Award recognizes outstanding contributions to palliative care, and Dr. Mustian was recognized for her numerous contributions to symptom management in cancer patients and survivors. Eduardo Bruera, MD, introduced the Award and Dr. Mustian delivered the Award Lecture, “Treatment of Cancer-Related Fatigue in Advanced Patients: What Can We Do Now?”

2019    MASCC’s Pediatrics Study Group, led by Chair Andrea Orsey, MD, MSCE and Vice-Chair Jason Freedman, MD, MSCE, aims to promote and improve supportive care for pediatric cancer patients and survivors and to ensure that pediatric supportive care is considered in all practice guidelines, research, and clinical endeavors.

2019    MASCC’s Survivorship Study Group invites healthcare professionals involved in the care of cancer patients to share their experiences and perceptions regarding patient-reported outcomes (PROs) in a 10-minute online survey. The Study Group is investigating oncology practitioners' current strategies and experiences in applying PROs in clinical practice, performance measurement, and research. The aims are (1) to explore practitioners’ experiences and perceptions on the use of PROs in routine clinical care at the patient level and (2) to assess the value of PROs as a performance or quality-of-care indicator at the system level. This study has been approved by the Institutional Review Boards of Chinese University of Hong Kong, and the Edith Cowan University, Western Australia.
If you are interested in participating, please follow this link for more information and the online survey by July 31, 2020: Patient-Reported Outcomes (PRO) Data Collection in Routine Care: An International Survey of Oncology Practitioners.

2019    The 2019 Annual Cancer Treatment-Related Adverse Events Symposium will be held on Friday, October 25, 2019 and Saturday, October 26, 2019 at the Rockefeller Research Laboratories, 430 East 67th Street, New York, NY. The course is directed by MASCC member Mario E. Lacouture, MD, who is the Director of the Oncodermatology Program at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

2019    Constipation is a common problem among patients with advanced cancer, with a reported prevalence of 32–87% in this group, in whom it also causes significant morbidity. Opioid-induced constipation appears to be a chronic side effect and is more common in patients with cancer pain than in those with nonmalignant pain. It may be influenced by the type of opioid involved, as well as by genetic factors, but does not appear to be particularly influenced by the dose of opioid.

2019    MASCC’s Mucositis Study Group (MSG) has announced the latest update of the MASCC/ISOO Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Management of Mucositis Secondary to Cancer Therapy. An editorial by MSG Chair Sharon Elad, DMD, MSc, and seven articles have just been published (July 2019) in a Special Section of Supportive Care in Cancer (SCC). This is the first set of papers generated as part of this guideline update and it represents several types of interventions for oral mucositis: anti-inflammatory agents; photobiomodulation; vitamins, minerals, and nutritional supplements; and protocols categorized as basic oral care.

2019    Chair Maryam B. Lustberg, MD, MPH, is a Medical Oncologist and tenured Associate Professor in the College of Medicine at The Ohio State University and a member of the Cancer Control Program at The Ohio State University’s James Comprehensive Cancer Center (OSUCCC). She has specialized in breast cancer and works as a medical oncologist at the Stefanie Spielman Comprehensive Breast Center. She is the Director of Breast Cancer Survivorship and the Medical Director of Cancer Supportive Care Services at OSUCCC and physician champion for the Adolescent and Young Adult Program. She has led numerous clinical trials, including research on the early detection of heart damage in patients treated with chemotherapy. She was recently awarded an R01 from the National Cancer Institute on focused on targeted therapies for the prevention of chemotherapy-induced neuropathy. Maryam has authored or co-authored of numerous research papers on such topics as physicians’ perspectives on survivorship care for older breast cancer survivors, prevention of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy, and early detection of chemotherapy induced cardiotoxicity in breast cancer survivors. She is a member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Neuropathy Task Force and the ASCO Survivorship Education Track, and member of Alliance and Southwest Oncology Group Cooperative Group Networks in the USA. In addition to the Neurological Complications Study Group, Maryam is a member of MASCC Study Groups on Nutrition and Cachexia and Survivorship.

2019    At the 2019 MASCC/ISOO Annual Meeting, seven Study Groups recognized high-quality work by junior investigators in their disciplines. The Fatigue Study Group was the first to honor outstanding young investigators with junior faculty and trainee awards as a means of professional recognition and a way to showcase cutting-edge work by up-and-coming researchers. The awards are based on the quality of abstracts submitted to the Annual Meeting. This year, junior investigator awards were conferred by the Study Groups on Fatigue, Geriatrics, Mucositis, Neurological Complications, Pediatrics, Psychosocial Issues, and Survivorship. In addition, the Fatigue Study Group recognized Debra L. Barton, PhD, FAAN, RN, as Distinguished Scientific Laureate.