Biotherapy: recent advances and nursing implications.

Nurses have and will continue to play a crucial role in the development and application of new BRM agents and products. Joint ventures between the National Cancer Institute, traditional academic centers, and private industry have produced new partnerships expanding the number and types of biologic research studies being conducted in various patient care settings. Nursing's contributions in these new ventures are significant and ongoing. If not directly involved in studying and administering BRM agents, the nurse will be involved in the education and counseling of persons who may participate in this new cancer treatment modality. Nurses will need to be familiar with BRM because many people will query them about this new field. Dr. Ehrlich concluded his address in 1900 by stating: "We no longer find ourselves lost on a boundless sea, but that we have already caught a distinct glimpse of the land which we hope, nay, which we expect, will yield rich treasures for biology and therapeutics." Are we there yet?