Oncology Resources For Pharmacists Looking To Develop Their Skills
Can you easily keep up with historical and new oncology information? Do you have one of those photographic memories that allows you to memorize content? Do you manage the care of all cancers so you can easily recall the important facts about each one when needed?
No? Me neither!
I am often asked about where to find oncology resources. There are a lot of great places for oncology-specific content; however, it’s spread over the vast worldwide web. When I come across good resources, I save them. What follows is the accumulation of that list.
Table of Contents:
Let oncology updates come to you
We all get bombarded with email every day so you might want to be selective about emails you choose to subscribe to. Getting healthcare push content can be helpful because it would likely take longer to curate those headlines on your own. Try experimenting with one of these formats and assessing if you like the content you get.
FDA (Food and Drug Administration) Drug Updates – receive notifications on new approvals, label changes, safety communications, and other regulatory updates. You can customize the types of alerts you receive.
NCCN (National Comprehensive Cancer Network) – sign up for free guideline update emails to stay current with changes to cancer treatment recommendations and supportive care guidelines.
NCI Cancer Currents – receive accessible summaries of important cancer research, clinical trials, approvals, and emerging oncology topics from the National Cancer Institute.
Oncology News Central – daily email updates highlighting major oncology news, approvals, and practice-changing developments.
Helio – sign up for a variety of oncology-focused newsletters covering clinical updates, conference coverage, and expert perspectives (sign up is in the page footer).
ASCO (American Society of Clinical Oncology) – subscribe to table-of-contents alerts and daily or weekly oncology news updates.
The ASCO Post – receive oncology news, major clinical trial summaries, expert commentary, and conference coverage in a format that is often easier to digest than reading the original publication
ecancer – provides free oncology education, expert interviews, and video discussions on emerging research and clinical practice topics.
There is a podcast for everything today, including oncology resources
I love podcasts because they make learning easy to fit into a busy schedule. Whether you're commuting, exercising, or doing chores around the house, they can be a great way to stay current.
OncoPharm – hosted by oncology pharmacist John Bossaer, PharmD, BCOP, this podcast delivers practical and engaging discussions on a wide range of oncology topics. Most episodes are under 30 minutes, making them easy to fit into a busy schedule.
The Fellow On Call - created by hematology/oncology physicians, this podcast focuses on fundamentals, core concepts, and evidence-based management approaches across hematologic and solid tumor malignancies.
ASCO - ASCO produces multiple podcast series covering clinical updates, guideline recommendations, precision oncology, quality improvement, practice management, and the human side of cancer care.
ACCC Cancer Buzz – produced by the Association of Cancer Care Centers, this podcast explores cancer care delivery, policy, operations, leadership, and other issues that impact oncology practice.
DISCO (Drug Information Soundcast in Clinical Oncology) – short episodes produced by the FDA that review newly approved oncology drugs and indications, often featuring insights from FDA reviewers involved in the approval process.
Oncology News Central Podcasts – features interviews with oncology thought leaders discussing recent clinical developments, emerging therapies, and practice-changing research across a variety of disease states.
Oncology Today with Dr. Neil Love – medical oncologist Neil Love interviews leading clinical investigators and experts, providing in-depth discussions of emerging data and treatment strategies across oncology.
Oncology Treatment Guidelines
Core Oncology Guidelines
NCCN (National Comprehensive Cancer Network) is a not-for-profit alliance of 34 cancer centers whose vision is to provide access to high-quality, high-value, patient-centered cancer care for all people globally
The NCCN Guidelines are the most commonly referenced oncology guidelines in the United States and cover:
Cancer treatment by disease state
Supportive care
Prevention and risk reduction
Special populations
Patient resources
NCCN guidelines are updated frequently, so pay attention to version numbers and recent revisions.
There are many other resources NCCN offers with a subscription service, such as treatment templates and the biomarkers compendium.
There is an NCCN mobile app for Android and Apple.
A few tips for new users:
Most guidelines are very large
Use the table of contents hyperlinks to navigate quickly
The discussion section often provides the best context and rationale behind recommendations but is updated slower than the rest of the guideline
Use Ctrl + F to search for keywords ("MS-1" jumps directly to the discussion section)
Recommendations have categories which are defined below in the table
If you do not see a category listed, that means it is 2A – this is always the default category unless otherwise stated
Despite these categories, NCCN advocates for clinical trials as the best management for any patient with cancer
American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) is a professional organization founded in 1964 whose mission is to conquer cancer through research, education, and promotion of the highest quality patient care.
ASCO’s guidelines are developed by multidisciplinary panels of experts, including patient advocates, and are organized by broad disease and topic areas. One challenge for newer learners is that there are often multiple guidelines relevant to a single disease state (for example, breast cancer), so navigating the guideline library can take some practice.
Compared with NCCN, ASCO guidelines are generally updated less frequently. However, ASCO often publishes Rapid Recommendation Updates when practice-changing evidence emerges before a full guideline revision can be completed.
There is an ASCO Guidelines mobile app for Android and Apple.
European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) publishes evidence-based guidelines across most major disease states and supportive care topics. Many pharmacists find ESMO guidelines easier to read than other guideline resources because they frequently incorporate visual algorithms, tables, and summary charts.
One unique contribution is the “MCBS (Magnitude of Clinical Benefit Scale)”, which attempts to quantify the clinical benefit of anticancer therapies. This framework can be helpful when evaluating the real-world impact of new treatments and understanding whether improvements in outcomes are likely to be clinically meaningful to patients.
ESMO also offers guideline recommendations tailored to regions with varying healthcare resources, making them particularly useful for a global audience.
There is an ESMO Guidelines mobile app for Android and Apple, and a desktop app.
Supportive Care Guidelines
Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer (MASCC) is a non-profit organization founded in 1990 that is dedicated to research and education in supportive care.
Two resources worth exploring are:
Guidelines – includes guidance on topics such as antiemetics, mucositis, and medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw. Many resources are available for free after providing an email address.
Assessment Tools – practical tools that can be incorporated into clinical practice, including resources for antiemesis management, cognitive impairment, and EGFR inhibitor skin toxicity assessment.
Other Speciality Guidelines
Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) publishes guidance focused on immunotherapy-related topics, including immune-related adverse event management and disease-specific immunotherapy recommendations.
Their guideline page includes both disease-specific immunotherapy recommendations and guidance on the prevention, recognition, and management of immune-related adverse events.
American Society of Transplantation and Cellular Therapy (ASTCT) focuses on hematopoietic cell transplantation and cellular therapies, including CAR T-cell therapy, graft-versus-host disease, and infection management.
Thier Practice Guidelines cover topics such as transplant and cellular therapy indications, graft-versus-host disease, infection prevention and management, immune effector cell toxicities, and disease-specific recommendations for hematologic malignancies. ASTCT also publishes consensus statements, position papers, and clinical practice recommendations that often help address areas where evidence is still evolving.
The ASTCT Learning Center contains additional educational content including webinars, guideline updates, and resources focused on transplantation and cellular therapy practice.
The European counterpart of ASTCT is EBMT (European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation).
There is an ASTCT Guidelines mobile app for Android and Apple.
Children’s Oncology Group (COG) is the leading pediatric oncology research organization in North America and is responsible for many of the standards of care used in childhood cancers.
While most COG resources are limited to members, they provide a collection of publicly available supportive care guidelines. These guidelines address common challenges encountered in pediatric oncology practice and are developed using rigorous evidence-based methods.
Oncology Patient Education Resources
Patient education is an important activity in clinical practice. Everyone has limited time in their day so having quick access to accurate and effective patient resources is a must-have. Here are some options to consider for your own practice.
Chemocare is a service out of Cleveland Clinic that has patient-friendly information about oncology drugs, regimen acronyms, adverse effects, and a host of other resources
Patient Education Sheets is a collaboration between NCODA (Network for Collaborative Oncology Development & Advancement), ONS (Oncology Nursing Society), ACCC (Association of Cancer Care Centers), and HOPA (Hematology/Oncology Pharmacy Association) to provide free access to patient appropriate educational information on oral and parenteral chemotherapy
You can also create a treatment calendar through the NCODA website
ChemoExperts is a very useful resource created by oncology pharmacists that has:
Treatment regimens which include acronym definitions, goals of therapy, schedule, side effects, monitoring, tips, patient assistance/copay coverage, and references
Disease information, including blood disorders
And an editable treatment calendar
NCCN Guidelines has many educational booklets for patients (in several languages), webinars, and additional resources such as advocacy and support groups. To find them, click on the Patient Resources tab at the top of the home page.
The American Cancer Society has patient education materials where you can download guides to cancer, survivorship, caregiving, and other topics
ESMO has patient education guides in many diseases and supportive care topics and they can be accessed in many languages
Oncology Clinical Information
Clinical Care Options has become a favorite of mine. They have a variety of media to help you understand oncology topics better, including video, podcasts, slidedecks, interactive tools, cases, downloadable tables, and clinical thoughts that bring in the clinician’s voice. Additionally, they offer ACPE-accredited programming.
Research To Practice has a lot of content separated by tumor type including video, audio, and slides – FYI, it’s easy to get lost in the weeds with all this content!
Cancer Therapy Advisor is a free resource whose mission is to provide practice-focused clinical and drug information that is reflective of current and emerging principles of care that will help inform oncology decisions.
OBR Video Center and Helio Video Portal contain videos from clinicians discussing clinical trial results, drugs, and other insights into their oncology practices.
The Hemonc wiki page is a free resource of interventions, regimens, and general information for hematology and oncology.
If you manage patients on immunotherapy, the IO TOX mobile application (on Google Play and Apple) will likely be very helpful. You can browse by toxicity and learn about the work up, CTCAE grading, and how to manage the toxicity.
MOSST (Multi-professional Oncology Safety Simulation and Training) is a unique training program sponsored by multiple organizations (and it’s free!). You have to apply for this program in teams of nurses and pharmacists for the interdisciplinary simulations. It appears focused on operational aspects of chemotherapy administration, but the course details indicate management of oncologic emergencies and oral oncolytics will be discussed.
Oncology Organizations
Can you believe there are over 100 oncology organizations worldwide! There are several specific to pharmacists including HOPA, BOPA, CAPhO, COPA, ESOP, ISOPP, and NCODA.
HOPA has helpful resources that cover a wide range of topics. Some that are particularly useful in my opinion are:
Guidelines, Standards, and Summaries – this includes the scope of hematology/oncology pharmacy practice, a dose rounding position statement, oral chemotherapy resources, and more
Summaries of Allied Organization Meetings which is a great way to stay up to date on scientific meetings pertinent to oncology pharmacy practice
NCODA has created clinical guidance documents called PQIs (Positive Quality Interventions) that range from adverse effect management to drug class overviews and many topics in between!
Oncology Continuing Education
If you are a member of ASCO, you have access to their eLearning platform that has many courses (including ACPE-accredited ones), and some are taught by pharmacists!
NCCN offers many education events and programs on various topics throughout the year (from their home page, select “Educational Events & Programs”).
HOPA and Medscape have partnered to produce pharmacy-specific CE programming (you do have to sign up for a free account to access).
ESMO’s OncologyPRO has a variety of recorded oncology lectures.
ACCC has several online courses that cover a variety of malignancies and other topics such as healthcare delivery.
Other Useful Resources
American Cancer Society has a Treatment Center Directories and Resources page to help you find a particular facility.
The Michigan Oncology Quality Consortium (MOQC) has a fantastic resource page with a wide variety of topics ranging from sexual and gender minorities to herbal supplements.
Drugs@FDA is helpful to search for drug approval documentation (package inserts, letters, labels, reviews).
This FDA page lists all the hematology/oncology approvals and safety notifications by year.
Companion diagnostics are becoming commonplace. The FDA publishes a list of cleared or approved companion diagnostic devices with each device name associated to the drugs it is used with.
If you are involved in a Pharmacy and Therapeutics committee, you might find the ASHP Formulary Submission Resource Center helpful.
The NIH publishes the CTCAE (Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events) which is a giant document used to grade adverse events.
CPIC (Clinical Pharmacogenetics Implementation Consortium) is a great resource for pharmacogenetic information which is being used with increasing frequency, including in patients with cancer.
The FDA published a pharmacogenetic table that includes associations they consider to have sufficiently strong evidence. This is an initial version and they have an open docket for comments.
The FDA has a Biomarkers in Drug Labeling page that lists out all drugs that include biomarkers in their package insert. It includes all diseases, but you could download the table and filter by oncology for a clean look at it.
The National Cancer Institute maintains a list of all drugs FDA-approved by cancer type - it’s a really great way to quickly see all drugs approved for leukemia, lung cancer, etc. Additionally, they have a list of drugs approved for conditions related to cancer (cardiac toxicity, hypercalcemia, etc).
About The Author
Kelley is a board-certified oncology pharmacist that strongly believes oncology is the best specialty for pharmacists and that anyone can learn it. She founded the ELO (Enjoy Learning Oncology) Program, the only private member network exclusively for oncology pharmacists. Want to get instruction and personalized support to take your oncology knowledge and career to the next level?
