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Alison Freifeld, M.D |
Alison Freifeld, M.D., spoke at the 12th annual conference of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), advising medical colleagues in oncology representing cancer centers across the country on the prevention and treatment of infections in patients with cancer.
For the past three years, Dr. Freifeld has chaired a national panel that oversees the development of NCCN guidelines for infectious complications.
The recommendations, which are updated yearly to be current with evolving medical literature, are integrated into care protocols at the nation’s leading cancer centers. These particular guidelines focus on identifying a patient’s risk level for infection during the course of cancer chemotherapy; identifying what signs and symptoms of potential infection should be evaluated in these vulnerable patients; and what preventive measures can be employed to decrease infectious complications.
The panel also determines recommendations for treating specific types of infections, including length of treatment and type of drug.
Dr. Freifeld serves as a professor of medicine at UNMC. In 2002, she founded the medical center’s Immunocompromised Host Infectious Diseases Program, which specializes in the care of cancer and transplant patients. The program has grown to include two additional physicians, two nurse practitioners and two researcher nurses over the last five years. She is recognized nationally as a leader in the field of infections in immunosuppressed patients.
The NCCN is a not-for-profit alliance composed of 20 of the world’s leading cancer centers including the UNMC Eppley Cancer Center at The Nebraska Medical Center. The network is dedicated to improving the quality, effectiveness and efficiency of oncology practice.