The Professional Home for Oncology Nurses

On April 11, 2025, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved nivolumab (Opdivo^®) with ipilimumab (Yervoy^®) for the first-line treatment of adult patients with unresectable or metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma.

Nearly 500,000 U.S. middle and high schoolers did not begin using e-cigarettes between 2023 and 2024 after viewing ads from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) “The Real Cost” E-Cigarette Prevention Campaign, researchers reported in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine.

I found ONS by accident—or ONS found me—while I was in Toronto, Ontario, to deliver a presentation at the American Association of Clinical Research (AACR) annual meeting in 1976. It already made me feel empowered—imagine me, a 20-something nurse, presenting to all those scientists at AACR. While there, I found a piece of paper on a bulletin board announcing the formation of ONS. I thought, “That’s for me. I’m in!”

On April 8, 2025, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved nivolumab (Opdivo^®) with ipilimumab (Yervoy®) for adult and pediatric patients aged 12 and older with unresectable or metastatic microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) or mismatch repair deficient (dMMR) colorectal cancer (CRC). The FDA also converted the accelerated approval to regular approval for single-agent nivolumab for adult and pediatric patients 12 years of age and older with MSI-H or dMMR metastatic CRC that has progressed following treatment fluoropyrimidine, oxaliplatin, and irinotecan.

As many as 30% of prostate cancer survivors have severe behavioral symptom burden, particularly sleep disturbance, fatigue, and cognitive impairment, according to study findings published in the Oncology Nursing Forum. Notably, the symptoms occur as a cluster, rather than in isolation, adding to the body of evidence about the interplay of side effects during cancer treatment.

When oncology nurses bring their expertise to resource-limited regions across the world, they also broaden their own understanding of patient care, according to three ONS members who recently participated in international programs. The nurses returned from their journeys with insights and inspiration for expanding awareness of cancer care and nursing roles outside the United States.