2022     Newly published by the Palliative Care Study Group, this guideline provides evidence-based recommendations on the management of malignant bowel obstruction (MBO) for patients with advanced cancer.

2022     Now available from the Mucositis Study Group, the MASCC/ISOO clinical practice guidelines for the management of mucositis (2019-2020) have been translated into 8 languages: Arabic, French, German, Greek, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazilian), Portuguese (Portugal), and Spanish.

This tool is an evidence-based tool to assist clinicians caring for patients prescribed oral anticancer agents. A companion user guide provides an introduction to the tool and explanation of how best to use the MOATT. The MOATT has now been translated into six languages and we encourage translations in other languages. Information on the MOATT, approval for use and translation policy are available on the MASCC website.

2021     Two updated MASCC guidelines from the Palliative Care Study Group are now available on our website:

2021     Our Oncodermatology Study Group is excited to announce the creation of a new Working Group on patient-reported symptom monitoring led by Dr Iris Walraven and Dr Corina van den Hurk.

2021     We’re excited to announce that our Survivorship Study Group is launching a new Subgroup in Exercise Oncology. Led by Prof Ray Chan and Dr Marg Fitch, the new Subgroup is already generating a lot of interest among members, with a number of intriguing research areas proposed. The group plans to initially focus on: 1) research on people with metastatic disease, 2) implementation science in exercise oncology, and 3) research on clinical outcomes through exercise for cancer survivors. Collaboration with other Study Groups will be a priority for the new Subgroup, including the Fatigue, Geriatrics, and Neurological Complications Study Groups, among others.

2021    The Survivorship and Palliative Care SGs called for expressions of interest late last year from early- to mid- career researchers to lead our new research efforts to advance survivorship care for people living with metastatic cancer. As a result of that process, two outstanding researchers - Drs Jasmine Yee and Nicolas Hart have been selected to be the inaugural recipients of the MASCC Terry Langbaum Survivorship Fellowship.

2020    Earlier this year, MASCC invited you to recruit and mentor one or more new MASCC members through a new initiative, the Buddy Membership Program. This program was designed to increase our membership and to also to help new members get involved in MASCC activities and take advantage of all our membership benefits.

2020    MASCC presents a collection of 2020 clinical practice recommendations for the management of immune-mediated adverse events from checkpoint inhibitors. These recommendations are focused on patients with the most severe toxicities and provide an important international resource and reference in helping improve the management of these presentations.

2020    Updated clinical practice guidelines for managing mucositis, a very common and often debilitating complication of cancer therapy, was recently published with open access in the journal Cancer. Patients experiencing mucositis often require enteral or parenteral nutrition, consume more opioids, and experience more interruptions to cancer therapy than patients who do not experience mucositis.

2020    MASCC announces the Study Group Leadership changes for 2020/2022. For the full roster of study group leaders, visit individual study groups on the MASCC website.  Be sure to stay in touch with your Study Groups and get involved in their projects. It's the best way to take full advantage of your MASCC membership and work with like-minded colleagues around the world. Contact Study Group Coordinator Leslie Johnson for more information.

2020    MASCC’s Survivorship Study Group invites healthcare professionals involved in the care of cancer patients to share their experiences and perceptions regarding patient-reported outcomes (PROs) in a 10-minute online survey. The Study Group is investigating oncology practitioners' current strategies and experiences in applying PROs in clinical practice, performance measurement, and research. The aims are (1) to explore practitioners’ experiences and perceptions on the use of PROs in routine clinical care at the patient level and (2) to assess the value of PROs as a performance or quality-of-care indicator at the system level. This study has been approved by the Institutional Review Boards of Chinese University of Hong Kong, and the Edith Cowan University, Western Australia.

2020    Andrew Davies, MB BS, MSc, MD, FRCP, took office as MASCC's new President in June, succeeding Rajesh Lalla, DDS, PhD, who has served as President since June 2018. Andrew is a Consultant in Palliative Medicine at the Royal Surrey County Hospital (St. Luke’s Cancer Centre) in Guildford in the United Kingdom. He is a longstanding member of MASCC and has served as a Board Member, the Chair of the Palliative Care study group, and Chair of the Annual Meeting in San Francisco (2019) and Seville (2020/2021).

2020    This month, we are sharing a recent article published by MASCC members in the MASCC journal Supportive Care in Cancer. With the rapidly changing and evolving practice in managing COVID-19, MASCC would like to share information on our members’ professional experiences amongst our community. If you are interested and able to share your professional experiences, advice and advancements during this time of international crisis, we will find a convenient time in your schedule for a brief 30-minute interview. Please contact Angela Perez today at [email protected].

2020    As I write these words, there are 3 million cases of COVID-19 infections around the world and every MASCC member has been directly or indirectly affected by the pandemic.  Labs have closed, elective surgical lists were stopped, and work from home began as did home schooling of small children. Cancer work never really stops, not even in the time of the pandemic.  That work evolves rapidly and the pandemic has presented us, the cancer clinicians and researchers, with urgent and significant challenges.  And with many questions: “How do we deliver care safely?” “Whose treatment is no longer safe?” “What research can continue and how?”

2020    Digital health — the use of technology to improve health and healthcare — is a simple concept, but a broad field that encompasses telehealth and telemedicine, health information technology, mobile health, and personalized medicine. One of its prime aims and benefits is the empowerment of all individuals to make better-informed health decisions by providing accurate and appropriate information as well as options for prevention, early diagnosis, and disease management outside traditional healthcare settings. Digital health products include mobile medical apps, decision support software, wearable devices, and more.

2019    Karen Mustian, PhD, MS, MPH, ACSM, FSBM, received this year’s Debra Sivesind Career Award at the 23rd Annual Interdisciplinary Conference on Supportive Care, Hospice and Palliative Medicine, held October 18-19, 2019 at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. The Debra Sivesind Career Award recognizes outstanding contributions to palliative care, and Dr. Mustian was recognized for her numerous contributions to symptom management in cancer patients and survivors. Eduardo Bruera, MD, introduced the Award and Dr. Mustian delivered the Award Lecture, “Treatment of Cancer-Related Fatigue in Advanced Patients: What Can We Do Now?”

2019    MASCC’s Pediatrics Study Group, led by Chair Andrea Orsey, MD, MSCE and Vice-Chair Jason Freedman, MD, MSCE, aims to promote and improve supportive care for pediatric cancer patients and survivors and to ensure that pediatric supportive care is considered in all practice guidelines, research, and clinical endeavors.

2019    Constipation is a common problem among patients with advanced cancer, with a reported prevalence of 32–87% in this group, in whom it also causes significant morbidity. Opioid-induced constipation appears to be a chronic side effect and is more common in patients with cancer pain than in those with nonmalignant pain. It may be influenced by the type of opioid involved, as well as by genetic factors, but does not appear to be particularly influenced by the dose of opioid.

2019    The 2019 Annual Cancer Treatment-Related Adverse Events Symposium will be held on Friday, October 25, 2019 and Saturday, October 26, 2019 at the Rockefeller Research Laboratories, 430 East 67th Street, New York, NY. The course is directed by MASCC member Mario E. Lacouture, MD, who is the Director of the Oncodermatology Program at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.