title: Genetics and oncology nursing.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To review oncology nursing practice in the genetic era, how genetic information is used across the cancer care continuum, practice guidelines, and opportunities for genetic nursing education.
  
  
  METHODS
  Published articles.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Genetic information in oncology health care is used not only to predict risk but to elucidate disease biology, explain individual variation in vulnerability to environmental carcinogens, diagnose and characterize malignancies, design treatment regimens specific to a cancer's genetic fingerprint, develop new, therapeutic modalities, and clarify modulators of drug metabolism, efficacy, and interactions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  With current and emerging genetic discoveries, all oncology nurses will use genetic information in their practice.
authors.affiliation: National Cancer Institute/Center for Cancer Research/Genetics Branch, Bethesda, MD 20883-5105, USA.
authors.forename: Kathleen A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Calzone
authors.forename: Agnes
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Masny
mesh_terms: D002983:Clinical Competence; D004509:Education, Nursing, Continuing / Q000592:standards; D016045:Human Genome Project; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics / Q000451:nursing; D024802:Nurse's Role; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D009730:Nursing Assessment; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D009859:Oncology Nursing / Q000193:education / Q000592:standards; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D012307:Risk Factors