Accelerating Advances in Cancer Care Research: A Lookback at the 21st Century Cures Act in 2020

Abstract

The 21st Century Cures Act (Cures Act), signed into law in 2016, was designed to advance new therapies by modernizing clinical trials, funding research initiatives, and accelerating the development and use of health information technology. To analyze the current issues in cancer care related to the implementation and impact of the Cures Act, NCCN convened a multistakeholder working group. Participants discussed the legislation’s impact on the oncology community since enactment and identified the remaining gaps and challenges as experienced by stakeholders. In June 2020, the policy recommendations of the working group were presented at the virtual NCCN Policy Summit: Accelerating Advances in Cancer Care Research: A Lookback at the 21st Century Cures Act in 2020. The summit consisted of informative discussions and a multistakeholder panel to explore the recommendations and the future of the Cures Act. This article explores identified policy recommendations from the NCCN Working Group and the NCCN Policy Summit, and analyzes opportunities to advance innovative cancer care and patient access to data.

Glycoconjugate Nanoparticle-Based Systems in Cancer Immunotherapy: Novel Designs and Recent Updates

“…During the 21st century, major changes in the way we detect, treat and prevent disease have been developed and put into practice. This has been highly evident when it comes to cancer therapy: Novel and innovative directions in discovery have resulted in modalities to treat various malignancies in more selective and “personalized” ways ( 1 ). Three new advances that have led the way when examining the past 20 years of discovery come immediately to mind: 1) The ready availability of cancer genome sequences after unraveling the human genome at the turn of the century ( 2 ), 2) The advent of targeted therapy for cancer ( 3 ) and 3) The development of biologics, primarily in the various forms of immunotherapies ( 4 ) to fight disease.…”