NCCN Annual Conference Focuses on Cancer Patient Journey; with Cutting-Edge Research and Latest Evidence-Based Care Recommendations

Three-day #NCCN2022 virtual oncology conference from National Comprehensive Cancer Network includes didactic presentations, interactive discussions, and challenging case reviews.

PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa., March 31, 2022 /CNW/ -- The NCCN 2022 Annual Conference brings together more than a thousand oncology professionals from around the world to learn about the latest evidence-based treatment recommendations and evaluate new research. From March 31 through April 2, the conference is taking place online via a user-friendly virtual platform, and includes more than 30 educational sessions focusing on state-of-the-art practice algorithms for care across multiple cancer types; updates to NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines^®); new and emerging therapies; controversies in treatment and areas where further studies are needed; and best practices in the delivery of oncology care. 

"The NCCN Annual Conference provides an opportunity for cancer care professionals to have direct access to world-renowned oncology subject matter specialists," said Robert W. Carlson, MD, Chief Executive Officer, NCCN. "We know working in health care can be challenging, especially recently, with the rapid addition of many new treatment options. With this conference—and all of the free resources NCCN shares—we want to support providers and make it easier to ensure people with cancer everywhere are getting the best possible care."

The conference includes concurrent sessions on topics such as genetic risk assessment, the future of telemedicine, and preventive health in cancer survivors. Leading experts present the latest treatment recommendations for more than a dozen different types of cancer including breast, colorectal, lung, pancreatic, and prostate.

This year, NCCN is including three plenary sessions on the patient journey, dealing with access to care, equity of care, and survivorship. The moderated panel discussion on access examines how academic cancer centers are expanding treatment services to the community (including home-based care) while exploring the challenges posed by each different setting. The equity panel includes a review of programs that are helping to close care gaps and highlights how the policy landscape is evolving. The survivor care session is focused on managing unmet psychosocial needs, including anxiety, depression, trauma, and distress.

"NCCN's core mission is to help people with cancer live better lives," said Dr. Carlson. "This means recognizing and addressing the anxiety and distress that is prevalent in up to 80% of cancer survivors. It also means having frank discussions about implicit and explicit biases in care, and taking on social determinants of health. Of course, all of these conversations are happening in the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has exposed systemic problems and radically changed care delivery."

The COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on cancer care is also the subject of numerous electronic posters. These are among the more than 200 new studies in clinical oncology, epidemiology, bioinformatics, quality improvement, best practices, and outcomes and health services, including equity and disparities. Top-rated abstracts include topics such as:

• Are We 'Choosing Wisely'? A Case of Unnecessary Staging Imaging In Older Patients with Prostate Cancer
• Humoral Immune Response Following COVID-19 Vaccination in Patients with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia and Other Indolent Lymphomas: A Large, Single-Center Observational Study
• Independent Validation of the PREDICT Prognostication Tool in US Breast Cancer Patients Using the National Cancer Database (NCDB)
• Phase I Trial of Concurrent Nab-paclitaxel and Cisplatin with Radiotherapy for Locally Advanced Cervical Cancer
• Phase II Trial of Trifluridine/Tipiracil in Combination with Irinotecan in Advance Biliary Tract Cancers
• Real World Data and Independent Predictors of Clinical Outcomes with CDK inhibitors in Metastatic ER+ Breast Cancer Patients
• Reuterin in the Healthy Gut Microbiome Suppresses Colorectal Cancer Growth Through Altering Redox Balance

Researchers presenting all of the top abstracts, as well as recipients of NCCN Foundation Young Investigator Awards, recorded oral presentations to further explain their findings. All abstracts are also available online at JNCCN.org, the online home of JNCCN-Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network.

The online conference platform also includes an interactive exhibition hall featuring more than 50 exhibits from industry, patient advocacy, and health information technology.

The virtual event platform will allow attendees to continue accessing all conference sessions and exhibits for 60 days after the live conference concludes. After that time, the sessions will be made available as recorded webcasts via the NCCN Continuing Education portal at education.nccn.org, with a clinical synopsis publishing in JNCCN this summer. Take part in the post-conference discussion on social media by using the hashtag #NCCN2022, or visit NCCN.org/news for updates.

Coming soon: NCCN is planning to return to Washington, D.C. for the Oncology Policy Summit on June 17, 2022. A virtual attendance option will also be available. The focus will be how to build a modern workplace that meets the needs of cancer patients, survivors, and caretakers. Learn more at NCCN.org/summits and visit NCCN.org/events for information on all upcoming NCCN events and webinars.

About the National Comprehensive Cancer Network
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network^® (NCCN^®) is a not-for-profit alliance of leading cancer centers devoted to patient care, research, and education. NCCN is dedicated to improving and facilitating quality, effective, equitable, and accessible cancer care so all patients can live better lives. The NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines^®) provide transparent, evidence-based, expert consensus recommendations for cancer treatment, prevention, and supportive services; they are the recognized standard for clinical direction and policy in cancer management and the most thorough and frequently-updated clinical practice guidelines available in any area of medicine. The NCCN Guidelines for Patients^® provide expert cancer treatment information to inform and empower patients and caregivers, through support from the NCCN Foundation^®. NCCN also advances continuing education, global initiatives, policy, and research collaboration and publication in oncology. Visit NCCN.org for more information and follow NCCN on Facebook @NCCNorg, Instagram @NCCNorg, and Twitter @NCCN.

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SOURCE National Comprehensive Cancer Network