Managing EGFR inhibitor side effects in lung cancer patients

Program Description:

Treatment of lung cancer has shown promising improvements in the past 5 years. The class of drugs known as epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitors has increased response rates and overall survival. This class of drugs exhibits a common set of side effects, which nurses are often called upon to recognize and manage. The future of lung cancer treatment will include the use of EGFR inhibitors, and nurses must be equipped with the knowledge to understand the drugs, their possible toxicities, and how to properly manage the side effects.

Activity Objectives:

At the conclusion of this activity, participants will be better able to:

• Describe the mechanism of action of two epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitors used in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer
• Describe the characteristics of the rash associated with EGFR inhibitors
• Identify three appropriate strategies to prevent or treat EGFR-associated rash

Faculty:

Beth Eaby-Sandy, CRNP, OCN
Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Disclosures:

Faculty
Beth Eaby-Sandy, CRNP, OCN, reported no financial relationships or relationships to products or devices they or their spouse/life partner have with commercial interests related to the content of this CE activity.

Planners, reviewers, and staff
Fiona J. Shannon, MHS, FNP; Phyllis Arn Zimmer, MN, FNP, FAAN; Tanya Gregory, PhD; Kristen Childress, DNP, ARNP and Connie Morrison-Hoogstede, MN, ARNP, AOCNP, reported no financial relationships or relationships to products or devices they or their spouse/life partner have with commercial interests related to the content of this CE activity.

Accreditor Disclosure
The Nurse Practitioner Healthcare Foundation (NPHF) assesses conflict of interest with its instructors, planners, reviewers, and other individuals who are in a position to control the content of CE activities. All relevant conflicts of interest that are identified are thoroughly vetted by NPHF for fair balance, scientific objectivity of studies utilized in this activity, and patient care recommendations. NPHF is committed to providing its learners with high quality CE activities and related materials that promote improvements or quality in health care.

Disclosure of Unlabeled Use
This educational activity does not contain discussion of any published and/or investigational uses of agents that are not indicated by the FDA .

Disclaimer
The opinions expressed in the educational activity are those of the faculty and do not necessarily represent the views of or imply endorsement by NPHF, the American Nurses Credentialing Center, or Haymarket Media, Inc. As this article contains only a review, participants have an implied responsibility to use this newly acquired information while also consulting other appropriate sources of information in order to gain full understanding of the topic.

Accredited Provider:

Co-sponsored by the Nurse Practitioner Healthcare Foundation and Haymarket Media Inc.

Instructions:

To obtain credit, a score of 80% or better is required. This CNE is offered at no cost to participants. Please proceed with the activity until you have successfully completed this program, answered all test questions, completed the posttest survey, and have received your digital copy of your credit certificate. Your online certificate will be saved on myCME.com within your Profile/Exam History, which you can then access at any time.

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:

WINDOWS PC SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:
266-MHz Pentium II; Windows 98 or higher; 64 MB RAM; 800 x 600 screen resolution set for “High Color (16-Bit)”; Macromedia Flash Player 6 or higher.

MACINTOSH^® SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:
Power Mac g3 at 300 MHz; System 8.5 or higher (excluding Mac OSX); 96 MB RAM; 20 MB minimum hard disk space available; 800 x 600 screen resolution set to “Thousands of Colors”; Macromedia Flash Player 6 or higher.