Robert W. Carlson, MD, Chief Executive Officer, National Comprehensive Cancer Network, and John A. Gentile, Jr, Chairman, Harborside Press, LLC, discuss the early days of NCCN, controversies that surrounded the first meeting, oncologists’ embrace of the guidelines, and how the organization has evolved over the past 20 years.
Mary Lou Smith, JD, MBA, of the Research Advocacy Network, discusses, from the perspective of a patient advocate, the value of the NCCN guidelines and the impact they have made on cancer care.
Robert W. Carlson, MD, Chief Executive Officer, National Comprehensive Cancer Network, and William J. Gradishar, MD, Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, discuss the evolution of the breast cancer guidelines, the inclusion of varied fields––such as plastic surgery, pathology, patient advocacy, and radiation–– and new treatment changes.
Melinda Telli, MD, of Stanford Cancer Institute, discusses the TNT trial for triple-negative breast cancer and the results reported at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.
Mario E. Lacouture, MD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses the effect on patients of dermatologic toxicities associated with targeted therapies: their psychosocial impact, financial burden, physiological pain, and potential to alter therapy. But the side effects of targeted treatments can and should be addressed.
John C. Grecula, MD, of The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center and the James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute, discusses the evolution of precision delivery of radiation for patients with small cell lung cancer and advances that include prophylactic cranial radiotherapy, thoracic radiotherapy, and the use of PET-CT.
