ASCO & NCCN Release Guidance on Management of Immunotherapy Side Effects

On February 14, 2018, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) jointly announced release of guidance on managing side effects of immunotherapy with immune checkpoint inhibitors. The organizations note that these guidelines pertain only to immune checkpoint inhibitors, not to other types of immunotherapy. 

To date, several checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapies have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treatment of a number of cancer types, including melanoma, Hodgkin lymphoma, and lung, liver, kidney, and bladder cancer. In the rapidly evolving cancer immunotherapy landscape, the number of agents, new indications, and combination therapies continues to grow.

In a joint news release, ASCO and NCCN briefly outline the guideline development process, which included convening multidisciplinary panels with representation from medical oncology, dermatology, gastroenterology, rheumatology, pulmonology, endocrinology, urology, neurology, hematology, emergency medicine, and nursing, as well as patient advocacy experts. The clinical recommendations were based on a systematic literature review and an informal consensus process.  

"The Management of Immune-related Adverse Events in Patients Treated with Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Therapy: American Society of Clinical Oncology Clinical Practice Guideline," was published online February 14, 2018, in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Read the article.

NCCN Guidelines® for Management of Immunotherapy-Related Toxicities were published online at NCCN.org on February 14, 2018.

ASCO and NCCN welcome feedback on their guidelines from oncologists, practitioners, and patients through the ASCO Guidelines Wiki or via the NCCN submission form at NCCN.org.