Due to the distinct features of cancer immunotherapy, and rapid progress in the field, clinical guidance is needed on the use of these agents, including appropriate patient selection, sequencing of therapies, response monitoring, adverse event management, and biomarker testing. The Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) convened an expert Task Force charged with developing consensus recommendations on these key issues. Following a systematic process as outlined by the National Academy of Medicine, a literature search and panel voting were used to rate the strength of evidence for each recommendation. This consensus statement provides evidence-based recommendations to help clinicians integrate immune checkpoint inhibitors into the treatment plan for patients with NSCLC (non-small cell lung cancer). This guidance will be updated following relevant advances in the field.
The following topics were covered:
Clinical question 1: What is the appropriate use of immune checkpoint blockade in patients with NSCLC?
Clinical question 2: What is the role of PD-L1 testing in determining eligibility for treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors?
Clinical question 3: How should radiographic response to immune checkpoint inhibitors be measured and monitored?
Clinical question 4: Should patients with NSCLC and a co-existing autoimmune disorder be treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors?
Clinical question 5: How should treatment-related adverse events, in particular pulmonary adverse events, be recognized, monitored, and managed in patients with NSCLC?
The SITC statement link: https://jitc.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40425-018-0382-2