Required Reading: “Advancing Immuno-Oncology in the Community Setting”

By Lee Schwartzberg, MD, FACP
Chair, Institute for Clinical Immuno-Oncology, Advisory Committee

Along with their copies copy of the January/February Oncology Issues, ACCC members will receive “Advancing Immuno-Oncology in the Community Setting,” the inaugural white paper from the Institute for Clinical Immuno-Oncology (ICLIO), an institute of the Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC).

As members of the oncology community well know, the last five years have brought us thrilling advances in immunotherapy. We’ve seen the introduction of checkpoint inhibitors and vaccines that are unleashing the power of an individual’s immune system to fight cancer. In the past few months, we’ve witnessed a surge of new FDA indications for immunotherapy agents in a number of disease sites, including melanoma, lung cancer, and renal cell carcinoma.

Immuno-oncology is now emerging as the fourth pillar of cancer treatment. It is a new field, bringing new promise and new challenges for patients, providers, and payers.

As Chair of the ICLIO Advisory Committee, I urge you to take a few minutes to explore the ICLIO white paper. Whatever your role in cancer care delivery, you’ll benefit from learning about the resources ICLIO offers today and those planned for tomorrow. Here are three reasons to learn about ICLIO:

1. The immunotherapy momentum continues to build. There is a robust pipeline of new immunotherapies in development, as well as emerging combination therapies. Staying up-to-date on advances in this new field is imperative—for your cancer program and your patients.
2. Empowered, informed patients and their families will be asking about (and for) these new immunotherapy options.
3. The challenges of integrating new therapies occur on many fronts—clinical, administrative, programmatic—and across disciplines. ICLIO brings a multidisciplinary approach to addressing these challenges with practical resources that help build a bridge from bench to bedside so that eligible patients in the community can access these new therapies and receive care in an evidence-based way.

For more, explore ICLIO resources online at accc-iclio.org and learn about future ICLIO initiatives. Take advantage of our upcoming ICLIO webinars in January:

Immunotherapies for the Treatment of Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma (mRCC)
January 15, 2016
12 pm, ET

Navigating Patient Assistance Programs for Immunotherapy Treatment
January 21, 2106
12 pm, ET

Coordination of Care for Immunotherapy Patient
January 27, 2016
12:30 pm, ET

Learn more and register for the webinars here. Join our community centered on transformative care!