The NCCN 2021 Virtual Annual Conference
Authors: Robert W. Carlson
Journal: Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (2021)

D espite a year-long pandemic that made both research and patient care more challenging, NCCN's panels of experts from leading academic cancer centers continued to develop updates to the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines) that helped oncology professionals worldwide maintain service to patients with best practices under evolving circumstances.The NCCN 2021 Virtual Annual Conference, held March 18-20, 2021, provided the opportunity for more than 1,300 attendees from across the United States and more than 40 countries to meet online and learn about updates to the NCCN Guidelines and new research in the field.Sessions explored supportive care and ways to help survivors return to work, updates on diagnostic testing, and the most contemporary treatments for multiple malignancies, including breast cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, gynecologic cancers, and head and neck cancers.This special issue of JNCCN presents these Highlights as a synopsis of the virtual proceedings.The webinars synopsized here provide essential new information on how to achieve the best outcomes for patients, and they also provide a deeper understanding of the strong evidence that supports recommendations found in the NCCN Guidelines.Leading the conversation at the conference were 3 keynotes discussing new recommendations to advance racial equity, ways to mitigate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer care, and ongoing strategies for preventing and controlling human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated cancers.Ongoing with the pandemic, 2020 was a year of reckoning with the United States' history of racial inequity, on which NCCN and the greater healthcare community have been called with renewed urgency to develop ways to make quality cancer care more accessible and equitable.At the conference, representatives from the Elevating Cancer Equity Working Group-convened by NCCN along with the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) and the National Minority Quality Forum (NMQF)-discussed detailed recommendations for reducing racial disparities in cancer care.People of color-especially Black, Latinx, and Indigenous people-often have higher cancer rates and yet are medically underserved, experiencing later diagnosis and worse outcomes.These disparities result from systemic inequality and bias in access and care delivery, and oncology professionals have a responsibility to respond, and help ensure their patients have access to guideline-adherent cancer care.Another keynote panel addressed the importance of vaccination, screening, public and professional education, and system/process improvement in preventing cancers common in people infected with HPV.This panel discussed the significant impact HPV vaccination can have on reducing cancer incidence in the United States, as well as globally; why many countries still have low vaccination rates; and how to counter misinformation about vaccines.Strategies to increase vaccination and otherwise control HPV are vital to cancer prevention.The final keynote discussed ways that the COVID-19 pandemic forced oncology professionals to adapt to provide ongoing care for patients with cancer, especially those at high risk.The panelists reviewed the COVID-related difficulties cancer centers have faced, how they adapted, and the possibility of permanent shifts to incorporate more telemedicine.In addition to synopses of these keynote sessions and other presentations, this Highlights issue also includes a selection of the abstracts from the NCCN General Poster Session, with studies focused on clinical oncology, preclinical oncology, epidemiology/risks, correlative/genetics, best practices in implementation and use of clinical practice guidelines, quality improvement, outcomes and health services