MORE THAN 8 million copies of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network® Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines®) were downloaded in 2017, marking a 16% increase since 2016 and setting a new personal record for the NCCN. Over the past 2 years, free downloads from NCCN.org and the Virtual Library of NCCN Guidelines® mobile app increased by approximately 25%.
NCCN’s growth included several milestones throughout 2017. In October, the organization achieved a registered user count of more than one million people, nearly half of whom are based outside of the United States. The number of individuals accessing the patient-friendly versions of the guidelines, the NCCN Guidelines for Patients, also increased, with 29% more page views. The NCCN Foundation funded the release of 5 new Patient Guidelines, bringing the total library to 39, including 4 international translations. The NCCN Radiation Therapy Compendium™ was completed in 2017, as was NCCN’s Imaging Appropriate Use Criteria™.
NCCN held 62 different in-person meetings and events, up approximately 27% from 2016. NCCN’s continuing education department reached nearly 14,000 medical professionals. In addition, the NCCN Oncology Research Program awarded funding to 11 different projects across the country, as part of NCCN’s ongoing efforts to investigate new ways to improve cancer care. This past year also represented the highest number of Guidelines updates completed in a single year, with 150 total.
Year of New Collaborations
IN 2017, NCCN worked alongside the African Cancer Coalition, American Cancer Society, and Clinton Health Access Initiative to create the NCCN Harmonized Guidelines™ for Sub-Saharan Africa, which launched in November. In addition, in February, NCCN announced plans to work together with ASCO on a brand new set of Guidelines for the Management of Immunotherapy-Related Toxicity. Those Guidelines are expected to be available in early 2018.
Ron Kline, MD, FAAP
Lee N. Newcomer, MD, MHA
NCCN’s 23rd Annual Conference will take place on March 22–24, 2018, in Orlando, Florida. It will include presentations of three new NCCN Guidelines; an emerging issues roundtable focused on value-based health care; and keynote addresses on the future trends in cancer care from Ron Kline, MD, FAAP, and Lee N. Newcomer, MD, MHA. ■
