Neither the threat of a government shutdown nor a hurricane could dampen spirits at the recently concluded 2015 AVAHO annual meeting. More than 400 physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and tumor registrars focused on hematology and oncology care convened in Washington, DC, for the meeting. Mary Thomas, MS, CNS, AOCN,was named president elect, and Anita Aggarwal, DO, took over as president from Joao Ascensao, MD.
The meeting opened with a look at the progress over the past 25 years since the launch of the Human Genome Project. Eric D. Green, MD, PhD, director of the National Human Genome Research Institute at the National Institutes of Health, delivered a keynote address, kicking off the meeting, followed by more in-depth discussions of incorporating value into care by Robert Nussbaum, MD, clinical professor at the University of California San Francisco.
The ability to screen for specific genetic mutations within a patient and to better identify specific mutations within a cancer cell is already transforming the ability of providers to personalize care. Even more promising, however, is the increasing awareness of the role of inheritance in individual variation in drug-response phenotypes, explained Richard Weinshilboum, MD, of the division of clinical pharmacology at Mayo Clinic’s department of molecular pharmacology and experimental therapeutics.
If the meeting opened with a focus on the promise of ’nomics-based medicine, it closed with a focus on the importance of compassionate care at the VA. Betty Ferrell, PhD, MA, FAAN, FPCN, director and professor, nursing research and education associate director for nursing research at California-based City of Hope, delivered a second keynote on the science and research behind quality of life measures and the essential role of empathy to personalized medicine. The meeting concluded with a dynamic discussion of difficult conversations with patients, from diagnosis to end of life planning.
