Onco-Primary Care of Patients Receiving Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors.

Abstract

Primary clinicians foster long-term relationships with patients and play key roles in the treatment journey for patients with cancer. Primary clinicians are important members of the multidisciplinary team and are central in coordinating and providing supportive care. The use of immune checkpoint inhibitors in adjuvant/neoadjuvant treatments and metastatic disease requires an awareness of their long-term survival benefits and immune-related adverse events (irAEs). Primary clinicians collaborate with the oncology care team to increase irAE awareness and identify institutional and individualized approaches to manage irAEs. IrAEs can develop at any time and present with a spectrum of symptoms, making them difficult to differentiate from other conditions. IrAE management relies on early recognition, close monitoring, and intervention with corticosteroids and/or dose interruption. Delayed irAEs underscore the importance of continued clinical vigilance following treatment, as primary clinicians are patients' most enduring point of contact. Primary clinicians have a critical role in supporting the care of patients with cancer and ensuring appropriate irAE recognition, monitoring, and intervention. Long-term continuity of care is critical for the immuno-oncology patient journey.