Management and Supportive Care of Patients Undergoing Immunotherapy

In many tumor types, where the prognosis was shown to be extremely dismal before, immunotherapy is now a new beacon of hope to many patients. Immunotherapy has been approved for use in a many different cancers including metastatic melanoma, advanced non-small cell lung cancer, metastatic renal cell carcinoma, refractory Hodgkin’s lymphoma, metastatic bladder cancer advanced head and neck cancer, and the list keeps growing each day. It seems to be generally better tolerated in most patients and less toxic compared to what we have seen in different anticancer treatments from before. However, the toxicities here are termed immune-related adverse events. There is almost no prospective data on these toxicities, and guidelines or recommendations are mostly based on symptomatic management from the ongoing clinical trials. Treating oncologists need to be aware of the subtleties in presentation and the huge difference in the way we mange these side effects. Although most adverse events are low-grade and manageable, they have the potential to be life-threatening if not treated promptly. In this chapter, we address the different immune-related adverse events relating to the organ system they can involve, presentation and symptomatology, general recommendations of management, and individual toxicities. Keywords: immunotherapy, PD-1, CTLA-4

Tuberculosis infection in a patient treated with Nivolumab for non-small cell lung cancer : case report and literature review

Nivolumab (PD-1 inhibitor) and other immune checkpoint inhibitors are used primarily to promote reactivation of anti-tumor immunity. However, due to their generalized immunorestorative properties, these agents may also trigger an unusual spectrum of side-effects termed immune-related adverse events. In the case of the lung, pulmonary infiltrates in patients treated with the anti-PD-1 inhibitors, nivolumab, or pembrolizumab, especially patients with non-small cell lung cancer, can result from immune-related pneumonitis, which, until fairly recently was believed to be of non-infective origin. This, in turn, may result in progression and pseudo-progression of disease. An increasing body of evidence has, however, identified pulmonary tuberculosis as an additional type of anti-PD-1 therapy-associated, immune-related adverse event, seemingly as a consequence of excessive reactivation of immune responsiveness to latentMycobacteriumtuberculosis infection. The current case report describes a 56-year old Caucasian female who presented with microbiologically-confirmed tuberculosis infection while on nivolumab therapy for non-small cell lung cancer. Notably, the patient, seemingly the first described from the African Continent, had not received immunosuppressive therapy prior to the diagnosis of tuberculosis.http://www.frontiersin.org/Oncologyam2020Immunolog

Lung cancer in South Africa

South Africa is the southernmost country in Africa. In 2018, the population of South Africa was estimated at more than 57 million. South Africa is a very diverse and multicultural country that consists of different racial groups. These demographics account for the differences in genetic, ethnic, and epidemiological risk factors for lung cancer. South Africa consists of nine provinces, and the incidence of lung cancer and treatment options available differ between provinces.MSD, AstraZeneca, Roche South Africa, and BMS South Africa.http://www.jto.oram2020Immunolog

Febrile neutropenia (FN) occurrence outside of clinical trials: Occurrence and predictive factors in adult patients treated with chemotherapy and an expected moderate FN risk. Rationale and design of a real-world prospective, observational, multinational study

Background: Febrile neutropenia (FN) is a common occurrence during chemotherapy. Granulocyte colony-stimulating factors (G-CSFs) can significantly reduce the risk of FN. International guidelines recommend G-CSF for patients receiving chemotherapy with FN risk of ≥20% or 10% to 20% with defined risk factors. Prophylaxis is not typically recommended for FN risk of 18 years of age) will have a solid tumour or Hodgkin/non-Hodgkin lymphoma and a planned chemotherapy regimen with expected risk of FN of 10% to 20% (according to published guidelines). Patients will be observed for the duration of the chemotherapy line (first cycle administered without FN prophylaxis). Primary endpoint is incidence of FN after the first chemotherapy cycle. Secondary outcomes include: FN-associated morbidity and mortality; time to first FN occurrence; other FN risk factors and impact of FN on quality of life. A risk model using occurrence of FN as a binary outcome will be developed. Data will be stratified by age, comorbidities and other risk factors. Discussion: This study will provide insight into the real FN risk for common chemotherapy regimens and predictive factors for FN, including patients generally excluded from randomised clinical trials, from which reported FN rates have been variable. This study builds on knowledge of predictive factors from other research and will provide information on patients with 10% to 20% FN risk.SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Supportive care for patients undergoing immunotherapy

Immune checkpoint inhibitors, a new class of cancer therapeutic agents, play an important role in the management of melanoma, NSCLC, and other malignancies. A workshop organized by three MASCC Study Groups: Oral Care, Skin Toxicities, and Neutropenia, Infection, and Myelosuppression during the MASCC Annual Meeting held in Adelaide, Australia on 23–25 June, 2016 focused on the new class of anti-cancer therapeutic agents. Topics in the workshop included the mechanism of action and clinical uses of immune anti-CTL4 and anti-PD1 antibodies, checkpoint inhibitor toxicities, including skin adverse events, gastrointestinal toxicities, oral complications, pulmonary toxicities, and endocrinological and immune-related infections. Checkpoint inhibitors have been approved for use in different malignancies including metastatic melanoma, advanced non-small cell lung cancer, metastatic renal cell carcinoma, refractory Hodgkin’s lymphoma, metastatic bladder cancer, and advanced head and neck cancer, and the list continues to grow. In general, these agents seem to be better tolerated in most patients and less toxic compared to conventional chemotherapy. However, the toxicities here, termed immune-related adverse events (irAEs), are unique and different from what we have seen in the past. There is no prospective data on these toxicities, and guidelines or recommendations are currently based on symptomatic management from the ongoing clinical trials. Treating oncologists need to be aware and alert themselves to the subtleties in presentation and the big difference in the way we manage the irAEs. Although most irAEs are low-grade and manageable, they have the potential to be life-threatening and extremely severe if not promptly treated. Additionally, irAEs could even lead to death, if managed incorrectly. The MASCC workshop addressed the various irAEs, per organ system, clinical presentation, management recommendations, and individual toxicities.SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Prognostic significance of the neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio in patients undergoing treatment with nivolumab for recurrent non-small-cell lung cancer

AIM: We investigated the prognostic potential of pretherapy measurement of the neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in patients (n = 56) with non-small-cell lung cancer deemed suitable for treatment with nivolumab. MATERIALS & METHODS: This was a multicenter, noninterventional, retrospective data analysis, involving five oncology centers. RESULTS: Patients with prenivolumab NLR values of 2 metastatic sites had median OS values of 11.4 and 6.1 months, respectively (p = 0.0174). A Cox multiple regression model revealed baseline NLR ≥5 as the only variable significantly associated with decreased OS (p < 0.0447). CONCLUSION: Pretreatment elevated NLR values are associated with poor outcomes in patients with recurrent metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer treated with nivolumab.http://www.futuremedicine.com/loi/lmthj2021Immunolog