Available Until 4/8/2024
VIEW CART

Predicting the Unpredictable: Navigating the Ever-Changing Landscape of Immunotherapy and Immune-related Adverse Event Management

Content Release Date: 2/8/2023
Expiration Date: 4/8/2024
Activity Type: Application-based
CE Credits: up to 2.5 contact hours (0.25 CEUs)
Activity Fee:  Free

About This Initiative 

An important drawback of ICI therapy is the potential for immune-related adverse events (irAEs) some of which are potentially life threatening. The unique mechanisms of action of ICIs can result in the occurrence of treatment-related toxicities that differ greatly from more conventional chemotherapy and targeted anti-cancer therapies. Another challenge is that the onset of irAEs can be immediate or delayed by as much as two years and can affect any organ system. As a result, care plans for irAEs are complex, time intensive, and require interprofessional coordination.  

This educational initiative addresses the specialized strategies pharmacist need to prevent, assess for, mitigate, and manage irAEs. The activities focus on emerging evidence-based data, current practice guidelines, new drug development, and approved indications to facilitate patient education and counseling, maximize clinical outcomes, and mitigate adverse effects.  

Activity Overview

This course consists of four activities (see table below) with video demonstrations of testing procedures and provides up to 2.5 hours of continuing pharmacy education credit. The review course includes instructional home-study modules with exam-style practice questions.

Part 1: 

Get to the Checkpoint: A Practical Perspective on

Updates in Immunotherapy and Immune-Related

Adverse Event Management*

Now that immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are rapidly replacing traditional chemotherapy treatment and becoming a new standard-of-care across many cancer indications, the prevalence of immune-related adverse events (irAEs) has grown as well. This educational activity explores both reversible and permanent irAEs taking into account clinical presentation, affected organ systems, and their unusual time course. Pharmacists are also challenged to keep up with the rapid changes in evidence-based guidelines and published literature on the use of ICIs and management of irAEs. Effective irAE care plans are a necessary component in the management of patients on ICIs. Therefore, this activity uses a case-based approach to illustrate how to differentiate, recognize, and manage irAEs according to the most recent recommendations in national guidelines.

 

Part 2: 
Ask the Experts: Check(point) Your Assumptions with Immunotherapy and Immune-Related Adverse Event Management**

This educational initiative addresses team-based clinical decision making in the care of patients receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors and drug interaction resources and tools available regarding drug-drug interactions with immune checkpoint inhibitors. This activity uses a case-based approach to address challenging clinical scenarios requiring the differentiation, recognition, and management of irAEs. 

Engaging the Experts Podcasts:
Podcast 1:

Beyond the Interaction Checker: A Deep Dive on Non-Traditional Drug Interactions with Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors

Podcast 2:

This Interaction is a “Pain”: Cancer Pain Management Optimization During Treatment with Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors
CE Credits: 1.5 hours CE Credits: 1.00 hours CE Credits: none

*Please note, this activity was presented live on December 5, 2022 as part of the ASHP 2022 Midyear Clinical Meeting & Exhibition. You can only claim credit once for this activity; live or home study.

**Please note, this activity was presented as a live webinar on March 2, 2023. You can only claim credit once for this activity; live or home study.

Accreditation

The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education as a provider of continuing pharmacy education with Commendation.

The target audience for these educational activities is pharmacists who practice in acute care and ambulatory settings who care for patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors.

Learning Objectives

After participating in this CPE activity, learners should be able to:

Get to the Checkpoint: A Practical Perspective on Updates in Immunotherapy and Immune-Related Adverse Event Management

ACPE Number: 0204-0000-22-423-H01-P

  • Describe reversible and permanent immune-related adverse events (irAEs) observed in patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), taking into account affected organ systems, time course for symptoms, and clinical presentation.
  • Interpret evidence-based guidelines and recent literature on the use of ICIs and management of irAEs.
  • Create patient care plans for the monitoring and management of irAEs.

Ask the Experts: Check(point) Your Assumptions with Immunotherapy and Immune-Related Adverse Event Management

ACPE Number: 0204-0000-23-400-H01-P

  • Discuss potential biases and assumptions to avoid during clinical decision-making for patients receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors.
  • Compare current clinical flags from common drug interaction resources and tools regarding drug-drug interactions with immune checkpoint inhibitors.
  • Evaluate other challenging clinical scenarios for patients who may receive immune checkpoint inhibitors. 

Jordan P. McPherson, PharmD, MS, BCOP
Oncology Clinical Pharmacist
Huntsman Cancer Institute
Adjunct Assistant Professor
University of Utah, College of Pharmacy
Salt Lake City, Utah


Jordan McPherson, PharmD, MS, BCOP is Oncology Clinical Pharmacist in the ambulatory solid tumor clinics at the Huntsman Cancer Institute, an NCI designated cancer hospital, at the University of Utah Health and Adjunct Assistant Professor at the University of Utah College of Pharmacy in Salt Lake City, Utah. Dr. McPherson specializes in the treatment of skin cancer using immunotherapy and other targeted therapies. He serves as a Panelist on the NCCN Guidelines for Management of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor-Related Toxicities, and is Past President of the Utah Society of Health-System Pharmacists. Dr. McPherson’s research efforts are well published in peer reviewed journals, including the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer, and Pharmacotherapy.



Tonya Smith, PharmD, BCPS
Clinical Pharmacy Specialist, Palliative Care
Emory Healthcare
Atlanta, Georgia

 


  


Tonya Smith, PharmD, BCPS, is Clinical Pharmacy Specialist in Internal Medicine at Emory University Hospital Midtown in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Smith received her PharmD degree from the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, South Carolina. She completed her PGY1 Pharmacy Practice Residency and PGY2 Internal Medicine Pharmacy Residency at University of Utah Health in Salt Lake City, Utah. Prior to Emory, Dr. Smith practiced on the inpatient medical oncology service and the Supportive Oncology & Survivorship Clinic at the Huntsman Cancer Institute in Salt Lake City, Utah.

No one in control of the content of this activity has a relevant financial relationship (RFR) with an ineligible company. As defined by the Standards of Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Education definition of ineligible company.

Activities can be completed in any order. Each activity consists of audio and video, an assessment, and an evaluation. Learners must review all content and complete an evaluation to receive continuing education credit for each activity.

Follow the prompts to claim, view, or print the statement of credit within 60 days after completing the activity.

Per ACPE requirements, CPE credit must be claimed within 60 days of being earned – no exceptions! To verify that you have completed the required steps and to ensure your credits have been reported to CPE Monitor, we encourage you to check your NABP eProfile account to validate your credits were transferred successfully before the ACPE 60-day deadline. After the 60 day deadline, ASHP will no longer be able to award credit for this activity.

Provided by ASHP
Supported by educational grants from Bristol Myers Squibb and Merck