NCCN Annual Conference 2018: Debut of New Guidelines on Immunotherapy-Related Toxicity
Posted: Friday, April 20, 2018
With the approval of immune checkpoint inhibitors for eight different cancers, including the use of nivolumab, pembrolizumab, and atezolizumab for lung cancer, the NCCN and ASCO collaborated to develop the first set of NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines®) on the Management of Immunotherapy-Related Toxicities. John A. Thompson, MD, of the Seattle Care Alliance, presented the key points of these new Guidelines at the 2018 NCCN Annual Conference in Orlando. The Guidelines are based on expert opinion, Dr. Thompson stressed, as there were no prospective trials on the treatment of immunotherapy-related adverse events.
“Physicians have to be alert for these effects, and we have to educate our patients to be prepared,” Dr. Thompson told attendees. “In general, when a patient encounters a serious toxicity, the checkpoint inhibitor should be stopped until the toxicity resolves. Stopping therapy due to adverse events does not jeopardize the anticancer effect of immunotherapy.”
According to the Guidelines, immunotherapy toxicities range in severity and patterns of onset and should be treated accordingly. For instance, if a patient experiences mild or moderate hypophysitis, therapy should continue; however, treatment discontinuation is required for severe symptoms. Similarly, patients may continue treatment with greater frequency of monitoring for mild liver toxicities, but it should be discontinued if moderate or severe adverse effects are observed. A host of ocular, neurologic, cardiac, dermatologic, gastrointestinal, and other toxicities are also discussed in the new Guidelines.
Visit nccn.org for full details on the new NCCN Guidelines for Management of Immunotherapy-Related Toxicities (login required).
