Jefferson’s Immuno-oncology Working Group, formed in late 2017, has specialist representatives from pulmonology, dermatology, gastroenterology, neurology, cardiology, nephrology, rheumatology, endocrinology, and hepatology. When a case arises the clinicians participating vary depending on the nature of the side effect in question.
At Jefferson oncologists have already put in place methods of alerting non-oncologists about the possibility of encountering irAEs in their patients.To help clinicians deal with irAEs once they are identified, oncologists at Jefferson developed and distributed algorithms for use by all of the health system’s clinicians when they were faced with immunotherapy patients experiencing adverse events.
IO Working Group group members respond to referrals promptly, resolving them the same day they are received. The group field about four to five referrals a week, totaling approximately 20 per month. For referrals that require a face-to-face patient consult, several specialists have built patient slots into their clinic hours for irAE emergencies.
Understanding both the benefits to be had from offering BsAb therapy to its community and the scope of this undertaking, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center took a novel approach with its APP-led BsAb step-up dosing clinic, which won the program a 2026 ACCC Innovator Award.
