The 2018 Annual Cancer Treatment-Related Adverse Events Symposium was held at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center on October 26th and 27th, 2018 under the direction of MASCC member Mario E. Lacouture, MD. More than 310 people, representing 8 different countries, attended the Symposium this year.
Systemic anticancer therapies, including cytotoxic chemotherapies, targeted therapies, and immunotherapies, have improved patient survival. However, a majority of patients treated with such therapies develop toxicities of various organ systems that can affect overall health and activities of daily living. These effects can result in inconsistent therapy and suboptimal clinical outcomes. Prevention and management of these adverse events are critical to optimizing both treatment success and patients’ quality of life.
The Symposium was designed to provide up-to-date information on adverse event mechanisms and management concerning the most commonly affected organ systems with the goals of increasing knowledge about grading adverse events, understanding their mechanisms to improve intervention, and increasing awareness of clinical tools to assess treatment-related toxicities. It was attended by oncology physicians, physician assistants, nurses, pharmacists, and other professionals involved in the care of cancer patients.
The faculty included several MASCC members, who spoke on the following topics.
- Kathryn Ciccolini, RN — Adverse Event Triage and Acute Evaluations
- Mario Lacouture, MD — The Importance of Adverse Events; Immune-Related Dermatologic Toxicities
- Rajesh Lalla, DDS, PhD — Mucositis and Stomatitis
- Nicole LeBoeuf, MD, MPH — Dermatologic Toxicities from Cytotoxic and Targeted Agents
- Charles Loprinzi, MD — Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy
- Florian Scotté, MD, PhD — Treatment-Related Adverse Events Research
- Vickie Shannon, MD — Immune-Related Pulmonary Events
Other topics included nausea and vomiting, diarrhea and constipation, nephrotoxicities, VTE and treatment-related coagulopathies, hypersensitivity reactions, sexual dysfunction, treatment-related psychiatric and cognitive disorders, hyperglycemia and Cushing disease, cardiac toxicities, ocular toxicities, endocrinopathies, immune-related adverse events and quality of life, and immune-related cardiac, gastrointestinal, neurological, and rheumatological events. This year’s event featured a live simulcast option for attendees, and the Symposium was CME and MOC accredited.
The 2019 Annual Cancer Treatment-Related Adverse Events Symposium will be held on October 25-26 at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Registration will be available online soon at mskcc.org/cme.
