NCCN sets new record for guidelines and events

More than eight million copies of the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines^®) were downloaded in 2017, marking a 16% increase over 2016, and setting a new personal record for the National Comprehensive Cancer Network^® (NCCN^®). Over the past two years, free downloads from NCCN.org and the Virtual Library of NCCN Guidelines^® mobile app increased by approximately 25%.

"Rising download numbers mean more clinicians are using the most frequently-updated medical guidelines available, and that in turn means more people with cancer are receiving the highest quality care possible," said Robert W. Carlson, MD, CEO, NCCN. "In 2017, many new treatment options became available for patients. NCCN's across-the-board increases represent the hard work we do every day to keep up with the rapid pace of medical advancement."

NCCN's growth included several milestones throughout 2017. In October, the organization achieved a registered user count of more than one million people, nearly half of whom are based outside of the United States. The number of individuals accessing the patient-friendly versions of the guidelines, the NCCN Guidelines for Patients, also increased with 29% more page views. The NCCN Foundation funded the release of five new Patient Guidelines, bringing the total library to 39, including four international translations. The NCCN Radiation Therapy Compendium^™ was completed in 2017, as was NCCN's Imaging Appropriate Use Criteria (NCCN Imaging AUC™).

NCCN held 62 different in-person meetings and events – up approximately 27% from 2016. NCCN's continuing education department reached nearly 14,000 medical professionals. In addition, the NCCN Oncology Research Program awarded funding to 11 different projects across the country, as part of NCCN's ongoing efforts to investigate new ways to improve cancer care.

This past year also represented far and away the highest number of Guidelines updates completed in a single year – with 150 total. Those updates were made possible thanks to time contributed by 1,355 panel members from across the 27 NCCN Member Institutions.

2017 was also a year for new collaborations. NCCN worked alongside the African Cancer Coalition, American Cancer Society, and Clinton Health Access Initiative to create the NCCN Harmonized Guidelines^™ for Sub-Saharan Africa, which launched in November. And in February NCCN announced plans to work together with the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) on a brand new set of Guidelines for the Management of Immunotherapy-Related Toxicity. Those Guidelines will come out in early 2018.

"As the number of people around the world whose lives are impacted by cancer goes up every year, so does our obligation to provide them with the best care possible," explained Dr. Carlson. "We will continue to stretch ourselves in 2018, and onward."

NCCN's 23^rd Annual Conference will take place on March 22-24, in Orlando, Florida. It will include presentations of three new NCCN Guidelines, an emerging issues roundtable focused on value-based healthcare, and keynote addresses on the future trends in cancer care from Ron Kline, MD, FAAP and Lee N. Newcomer, MD, MHA.

Source: https://www.nccn.org/