This message was sent to ##Email## March 14, 2019     Home  |   About   Subscribe  |   Archive  |   Advertise   Learn the basics of accreditation and survey preparation The Cancer Programs of the American College of Surgeons are hosting three one-day programs on back- to-back days. Attend one, two or all three of the Accreditation 101 programs on April 7–9 in Rosemont (Chicago) and gain knowledge about the accreditation requirements as you learn implementation strategies for compliance. Join us for April 7 – National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC) Pursing Excellence through Accreditation, April 8 – Commission on Cancer (CoC) Accreditation 101, and April 9 – National Accreditation Program for Rectal Cancer (NAPRC) Accreditation 101 Learn about the standards from those who developed them and survey them. Whether you are a new staff member looking for information to help you prepare for your first survey or an experienced staff member planning for your next survey, these programs are for you. Book your hotel by this Friday, March 22 at 12 noon CT to receive the discounted group rate. Visit the Hotel and Travel page for detailed information. Program and registration information can be found Cluster Programs event website. For additional information, contact us via e-mail. READ MORE Submit your question for CAnswer Forum Live Cancer Programs CAnswer Forum Live is a 60-minute webinar open to staff at current and prospective Commission on Cancer (CoC), National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC) and National Accreditation Program for Rectal Centers (NAPRC) programs. The next webinar will take place on March 27 and will focus on the questions that you have on the Quality Standards (CoC 4.7–Studies of Quality, CoC 4.8–Quality Improvements and NAPBC 6.1–Quality and Outcomes). Please submit your questions by March 20, and make sure to register for this event today. If you are not able to attend the live webinar, you can access the recordings from the CAnswer Forum Live website. For additional information, contact srubin@facs.org.  READ MORE    SPONSORED CONTENT Advertisement Promoted by CHAMPS Oncology CHAMPS Oncology Outlook features posts on the industry, careers and more: Reaching Your Concurrent Abstracting Goal Non-Analytic Cases — What’s Your Percentage? Developing Goals for CoC Compliance Cancer Registry Abstracting Tips for 2018+   Cancer Programs staff on the road Staff from the Cancer Programs look forward to seeing you at the Cancer Programs booth during the following conferences: National Consortium of Breast Centers (NCBC), March 15–20 in Las Vegas Society of Surgical Oncology (SSO), March 27–30 in San Diego ACS Leadership and Advocacy Summit, Washington DC, March 29-April 1 American Society of Breast Surgeons, April 30–May 5 in Dallas National Cancer Registrars Association (NCRA), May 19–22 in Denver ASCO Annual, May 31–June 4 in Chicago American Society for Colon and Rectal Surgeons, June 1–5 in Cleveland Please stop by and learn what’s new from the Cancer Programs.  AJCC NEWS Free access to AJCC webinars on the Eighth Edition The American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) is committed to keeping cancer registrars informed by providing access to recordings of the Eighth Edition Webinars. A list of topics can be found on the Eighth Edition Webinars webpage. CTRs can claim up to one hour of Continuing Education (CE) for each recorded webinar. The one CE hour meets the Category A requirement for continuing education. READ MORE    SERVICE SHOWCASE Advertisement Help Doctors Without Borders Today Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is actively recruiting general and trauma surgeons with experience in emergency obstetrics for international missions in developing countries. Learn more  CoC NEWS Standard 4.3 CLP Responsibilities The Cancer Liaison Physician (CLP) is an integral member of your cancer program. This individual is responsible for interpreting and presenting the National Cancer Database (NCDB) data to a program’s cancer committee at least quarterly. CLPs have their fingers on the pulse of NCDB data and are continually looking at the data to ensure that the program is providing high-quality care to its cancer patients. The Commission on Cancer (CoC) requires accredited programs to fulfill the requirements of standard 4.3 to maintain accreditation. With the updates of the 2019 SAR, the completion of the CLP activity report will not be required. This change went to effect Jan. 1, 2019. This is the only revision to the standard; all other compliance criteria remain.  NCDB NEWS STORE data item clarification: Surgery sequence data items For Systemic/Surgery Sequence, NAACCR Data Item #1639, course may refer to dose or cycles. Two courses of chemotherapy would be two injections of chemotherapy — two doses or two cycles. For Radiation/Surgery Sequence, NAACCR Data Item #1380, course may refer to fractions. These clarifications will be provided in the next version of STORE.     .  SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT Advertisement      HEALTH CARE NEWS AND UPDATES Implementing precision medicine in community-based oncology programs: 3 models ASCO The use of precision medicine and the number of genomic-based treatments and immunotherapies is increasing. Nevertheless, oncology providers face challenges to implementing precision medicine, including in community practices, where most patients receive treatment.  READ MORE Gottlieb resigns at FDA, recommends Sharpless as successor The Cancer Letter Scott Gottlieb has submitted a letter of resignation from his job as FDA commissioner, reportedly recommending that NCI Director Ned Sharpless be appointed as his successor at the agency. Sharpless’s name was first mentioned in The Wall Street Journal as a possible candidate to replace Gottlieb, and knowledgeable sources told The Cancer Letter that Gottlieb has indeed mentioned to the administration that Sharpless would be his choice for the job.  READ MORE    SPONSORED CONTENT Advertisement Promoted by InformedDNA What’s Ahead for Precision Medicine? Trends Point to More Automated Decision Support Precision Medicine: A Glossary of Terms How Medicare Coverage of Genetic Counseling Could Decrease Care Costs and Improve Quality Genetic Counseling services from the nation’s largest, lab-independent, full-time staff of certified genetics experts in the U.S. Whitepaper: Eliminating the Hidden Costs of Genetic Testing Claims   Pilot clinical trials begin on technique to identify radiation-resistant tumors University of Arkansas Researchers have started pilot clinical studies in head and neck cancer patients to determine if Raman spectroscopy, a noninvasive imaging technique, can effectively spare some patients of the toxic side effects of ineffective radiation therapy.  READ MORE Treating triple-negative breast cancer by repurposing old drugs for diabetes and rare blood disorder FierceBiotech Triple-negative breast cancer patients lack three common markers — estrogen, progesterone and HER2 — making them unresponsive to targeted therapies. A team led by University of Chicago scientists may have found a new option for these patients, and it's one that involves combining two old FDA-approved drugs for diabetes and porphyria, a rare disorder marked by a lack of heme, a substance in blood that's essential for oxygen transport. The drugs are metformin, a widely prescribed Type 2 diabetes medication that has been clinically used since 1957, and hemin, which has been marketed as panhematin to treat porphyria. Studies using cell lines and mouse tumor models showed that the novel combination can suppress triple-negative breast tumor growth, according to a paper published in the journal Nature.  READ MORE    PRODUCT SHOWCASE Advertisement The Transcutaneous Intraoperative (TQI) Doppler The VTI TQI Doppler system, with its disposable probes, provides a reliable solution for transcutaneous and invasive assessment of vasculature during surgery. In reconstructive applications, the TQI system allows for perioperative localization of perforators, assessment of pedicle anastamosis, as well as assessment of flap viability. Cancer patients are getting robotic surgery. There's no evidence it's better. The New York Times Robotic surgery was never approved for mastectomy or any other cancer-related treatment, but that has hardly deterred doctors in the operating suite. The equipment is widely used to operate on patients with various malignancies, from breast cancer to prostate cancer. Yet there have long been questions about how well doctors are trained on the machines, and whether the devices are better for patients than traditional methods.  READ MORE Potential way to improve cancer surgery outcomes by managing nontraditional risk factors Johns Hopkins Medicine via Science Daily In a study of 142 patients preparing for cancer surgery, Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers say they have evidence that psychological or social risk factors such as depression, limited resilience and lack of emergency resources along with standard medical risk factors such as high blood pressure or diabetes are linked with higher risks of surgical complications.  READ MORE  IMPORTANT DATES AND DEADLINES Date Event March 13-16 American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Care, Atlanta, GA March 14-16 American Society of Plastic Surgeons, Las Vegas, NV March 15-20 National Consortium of Breast Centers, Inc., Las Vegas, NV March 16-19 Society of Gynecologic Oncology, Honolulu, HI March 20-22 Association of Community Cancer Centers, Washington, DC March 21-23 National Comprehensive Cancer Network, Orlando, FL March 27-30 Society of Surgical Oncology, San Diego, CA March 27 CAnswer Forum Live March 30 – April 2 ACS Leadership & Advocacy Summit, Washington, DC April 1 NCDB Call for Data Opens April 2-6 American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics, Seattle, WA April 3-6 Hematology/Oncology Pharmacy Association, Fort Worth, TX April 4-5 Community Oncology Alliance, Orlando, FL April 4-7 Society Breast Imaging, Hollywood, FL April 6-9 American Radium Society, Fort Worth, TX April 7-9 American Association of Endocrine Surgeons, Los Angeles, CA April 8-10 Association of Pediatric Oncology Social Workers, Phoenix, AZ April 8-12 National Cancer Registrars Week sponsored by NCRA April 11-13 American College of Physicians, Philadelphia, PA April 11-14 Oncology Nursing Society, Anaheim, CA April 30 - May 5 American Society of Breast Surgeons, Dallas, TX June 2 National Cancer Survivors Day July 19-22 ACS Quality and Safety Conference, Washington, DC Oct. 1-31 National Breast Cancer Awareness Month Oct. 27-31 ACS Clinical Congress, San Francisco, CA   The Brief Connect with AJCC Connect with CoC Connect with NAPBC Recent Issues | Subscribe | Unsubscribe | Advertise | Web Version  Colby Horton, Vice President of Publishing, 469-420-2601 | Download media kit Ashley Harrington, Senior Content Editor, 469-420-2642 | Contribute news Disclaimer: The Brief is a digest of news selected for the American College of Surgeons Cancer Programs from thousands of sources by the editors of MultiBriefs, an independent organization that also manages and sells advertising. The American College of Surgeons and Cancer Programs do not endorse any of the advertised products and services. Opinions expressed in the articles are those of the authors and not of the American College of Surgeons, and the Cancer Programs. American College of Surgeons 633 N Saint Clair Street | Chicago, IL, 60611-3211  | 800-621-4111 | Contact Us  Learn how to add us to your safe sender list so our emails get to your inbox. 7701 Las Colinas Ridge, Ste. 800, Irving, TX 75063