Critical need for guidance
The ASCO and NCCN guidelines are “critically important” to ensure uniform management of common immune-related adverse events, according to Stephen M. Ansell, MD, PhD, professor of medicine and chair of the Lymphoma Group at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.
“I think it also specifically highlights a few side effects that many people may not necessarily think about, from eye toxicities to thyroid effects, or the type of things that the average oncologist who is now using this in their practice quite regularly may not necessarily think about,” Dr. Ansell said. “Those kind of effects are now clearly outlined with clear guidance about what should be done, and I think that allows oncologists a resource to go and look at this carefully so that they do the right thing.”
Dr. Stephen M. Ansell
The spectrum of adverse effects associated with checkpoint inhibitors is markedly different from what is seen with cytotoxic chemotherapy, the guidelines note. Most often, the side effects are seen in the skin, GI tract, and lungs, as well as the endocrine, adrenal, nervous, thyroid, pituitary, musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, ocular, and hematologic systems.