Bispecific antibodies are an emerging class of novel immunotherapy agents with tremendous treatment potential. With more than 50 bispecific antibodies currently in clinical trials, their use in community cancer care is expected to increase as their indications expand to include more diseases that are routinely treated in outpatient settings, such as myeloma and solid tumors. However, barriers, such as serious treatment-related toxicities and other practical considerations, have limited its widespread use, particularly in the community-based setting.
To optimize care for patients being treated with bispecific antibodies and to explore early identification and management of adverse events common in patients on bispecific antibodies, the Association of Cancer Care Centers (ACCC) has developed an educational initiative—“Best Practices in Expanding Access to Bispecific Antibodies and Adverse Event Management”—in partnership with the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC). This program was made possible by support from Johnson & Johnson Healthcare Systems, Inc.
This initiative extrapolates from ACCC’s 2020 bispecific antibodies education project that sought to prepare community oncology providers for use of bispecific antibodies by identifying barriers to awareness, preparedness, and implementation. Preliminary research and findings from ACCC’s 2020 survey on bispecific antibodies revealed common challenges community-based providers experienced. Of the 129 total survey respondents, identified challenges included transitioning patients from the inpatient to outpatient setting (41%), managing patients in remote areas (33%), securing insurance coverage (28%), managing side effects (27%), assisting patients with treatment-related costs (24%), and lacking in-house expertise with the drug class (22%).
As Srinivas Devarakonda, MD, associate professor in the Division of Hematology at the Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute at The Ohio State University and Advisory Committee member of ACCC’s 2020 bispecific antibodies project explains, “There is an inpatient to outpatient transition that must be very meticulous, so as not to miss any days of treatment. And in that, it takes a village…because you need insurance approvals and coordination with the infusion agency, nurses, local pharmacy, and local facility that would be comfortable managing the patient’s side effects if something were to happen.”
Thus, improvements in communication and coordination across the continuum of care of is essential to lay the groundwork for implementation of these complex treatments into the community care setting.
ACCC and SITC gathered experts Allison Betof Warner, MD, PhD, of Stanford University School of Medicine; Syed Haider, MD, of Aurora St. Luke's Medical Center; and Robert Richards, MS, MBA, of Penn Medicine, to review the 3 areas of focus: Education, Coordination, and Facilitation in the Expanding Access to Cellular and Bispecific Therapies Report.
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As immunotherapies prove increasingly effective and safe in treating diverse cancers, broadening access to therapies—and navigating the infrastructural, clinical, and operational requirements—can be challenging for community cancer centers. Read this comprehensive guide developed from a collaborative summit between the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) and the Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC) for best practices and strategies to implement a sustainable immunotherapy program.
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Building upon the previous work of "Best Practices in Expanding Access to Bispecific Antibodies and Adverse Event Management," this resource explores ways to expand patient access to BsAbs and identify methods to optimize the early identification and management of treatment-related adverse events (TRAE) with a focus on cytokine release syndrome (CRS).
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