Psycho-Oncology – Announcing the New Challenges to Psycho-Oncology Research Series

January 17, 2017

The Editors wish to announce the New Challenges to Psycho-Oncology Research Series for 2017. It will entail the publication of four invited Editorials by well known investigators to alert the field about exciting research opportunities in a particular emerging area. Each Editorial will be accompanied by a Commentary by an expert investigator.  We hope that the journal will thereby stimulate new research initiatives by bringing a proactive approach to author-submitted research. The Series will begin with New Challenges in Precision Medicine Oncology and Targeted Therapies. The revolution in oncology of treatments based on molecular information has changed the basis on which diagnosis and treatment of cancer are determined. It behooves psycho-oncologists to be familiar with these changes and the psychosocial sequelae that accompany them. Concurrent the precision medicine evolution is the new Digital Age of Communication in which information about new cancer treatments is spread rapidly by internet, social media and, in some countries, by direct advertising to the public. How well do psycho-oncologists understand these dual social upheavals? How much attention are we giving to the consequences of heightened expectations? The Editorial is written by Dr. Daniel McFarland, both oncologist and psycho-oncologist, Dr. Jimmie Holland, psycho-oncologist  and Ms. Liz Blackler, social worker. The Commentary, is written by Dr. Larry Norton, senior breast oncologist at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and internationally recognized medical oncologist.