Primary systemic therapy is increasingly used in the treatment of patients with early-stage breast cancer, but few guidelines specifically address optimal locoregional therapies. Therefore, we established an international consortium to discuss clinical evidence and to provide expert advice on technical management of patients with early-stage breast cancer. The steering committee prepared six working packages to address all major clinical questions from diagnosis to surgery. During a consensus meeting that included members from European scientific oncology societies, clinical trial groups, and patient advocates, statements were discussed and voted on. A consensus was reached in 42% of statements, a majority in 38%, and no decision in 21%. Based on these findings, the panel developed clinical guidance recommendations and a toolbox to overcome many clinical and technical requirements associated with the diagnosis, response assessment, surgical planning, and surgery of patients with early-stage breast cancer. This guidance could convince clinicians and patients of the major clinical advancements purported by primary systemic therapy, the use of less extensive and more targeted surgery to improve the lives of patients with breast cancer.

Extravasation (paravasation) of chemotherapy drugs is a very significant complication. Preventive and therapeutic interventions reduce the risk of the complication or the extent of its consequences. A working group of authors from expert groups prepared recommendations for standard care.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have transformed the treatment landscape for oncology, leading to durable remissions in a subset of patients, but also a broad range of potentially life-threatening inflammatory toxicities, many of which involve the gastrointestinal (GI) tract and liver. The purpose of this expert review was to update gastroenterologists on the gastrointestinal and hepatic toxicities of ICIs and provide best practice advice on their diagnosis and management.

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has given rise to a pandemic of unprecedented proportions in the modern era because of its highly contagious nature and impact on human health and society: coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Patients with cardiovascular (CV) risk factors and established CV disease (CVD) are among those initially identified at the highest risk for serious complications, including death. Subsequent studies have pointed out that patients with cancer are also at high risk for a critical disease course. Therefore, the most vulnerable patients are seemingly those with both cancer and CVD, and a careful, unified approach in the evaluation and management of this patient population is especially needed in times of the COVID-19 pandemic. This review provides an overview of the unique implications of the viral outbreak for the field of cardio-oncology and outlines key modifications in the approach to this ever-increasing patient population. These modifications include a shift toward greater utilization of cardiac biomarkers and a more focused CV imaging approach in the broader context of modifications to typical practice pathways. The goal of this strategic adjustment is to minimize the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection (or other future viral outbreaks) while not becoming negligent of CVD and its important impact on the overall outcomes of patients who are being treated for cancer.

The immune checkpoints associated with the CTLA-4 and PD-1 pathways are critical modulators of immune activation. These pathways dampen the immune response by providing brakes on activated T cells, thereby ensuring more uniform and controlled immune reactions and avoiding immune hyper-responsiveness and autoimmunity. Cancer cells often exploit these regulatory controls through a variety of immune subversion mechanisms, which facilitate immune escape and tumor survival. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) effectively block negative regulatory signals, thereby augmenting immune attack and tumor killing. This process is a double-edged sword in which release of regulatory controls is felt to be responsible for both the therapeutic efficacy of ICI therapy and the driver of immune-related adverse events (IrAEs). These adverse immune reactions are common, typically low-grade and may affect virtually every organ system. In the early clinical trials, lung IrAEs were rarely described. However, with ever-expanding clinical applications and more complex ICI-containing regimens, lung events, in particular, pneumonitis, have become increasingly recognized. ICI-related lung injury is clinically distinct from other types of lung toxicity and may lead to death in advanced stage disease. Thus, knowledge regarding the key characteristics and optimal treatment of lung-IrAEs is critical to good outcomes. This review provides an overview of lung-IrAEs, including risk factors and epidemiology, as well as clinical, radiologic, and histopathologic features of ICI-related lung injury. Management principles for ICI-related lung injury, including current consensus on steroid refractory pneumonitis and the use of other immune modulating agents in this setting are also highlighted.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have emerged as the newest pillar of cancer treatment, transforming outcomes in melanoma and showing benefit in a range of malignancies. Immune-mediated toxicities, stemming from increased activity within the T cell lineage, range from asymptomatic or mild complications to those that are fulminant and potentially fatal. Immune-mediated endocrinopathies include hypophysitis, thyroiditis, and insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. These presentations, which may be vague and non-specific, can be life-threatening if not diagnosed and treated appropriately. This review considers the work-up and management of immune-mediated endocrinopathies and also considers the role of advanced practice practitioners in the management of immune-mediated toxicities. These state-of-the-art MASCC recommendations represent a comprehensive overview of the management and clinical work-up in those in whom the diagnosis should be considered.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have emerged as the newest pillar of cancer treatment. Immune-mediated toxicities, stemming from increased activity within the T cell lineage, range from asymptomatic or mild complications to those that are fulminant and potentially fatal. Although they are of variable occurrence, cardiovascular, rheumatic, and renal immune-mediated toxicities are among the most serious of these adverse events. We present MASCC recommendations with respect to the workup and management of cardiovascular, rheumatic, and renal immune-mediated toxicities with a focus on presentations that require treatment with immunomodulating agents.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) frequently result in cutaneous immune-related adverse events (IrAEs). Although the majority of these events are mild-to-moderate in severity, up to 5% are severe, which may lead to morbidity and dose interruption or discontinuation of ICI therapy. In addition, up to 25% of dermatologic IrAEs are corticosteroid-refractory or corticosteroid-dependent. These 2020 MASCC recommendations cover the diagnosis and management of cutaneous IrAEs with a focus on moderate-to-severe and corticosteroid-resistant events. Although the usage of immune-suppressive therapy has been advocated in this setting, there is a lack of randomized clinical trial data to provide a compelling level of evidence of its therapeutic benefit.

Immune-related adverse events (IrAEs) affecting the gastrointestinal (GI) tract and liver are among the most frequent and most severe inflammatory toxicities from contemporary immunotherapy. Inflammation of the colon and or small intestines (entero)colitis is the single most common GI IrAE and is an important cause of delay of discontinuation of immunotherapy. The severity of these GI IrAEs can range from manageable with symptomatic treatment alone to life-threatening complications, including perforation and liver failure. The frequency and severity of GI IrAEs is dependent on the specific immunotherapy given, with cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen (CTLA)-4 blockade more likely to induce severe GI IrAEs than blockade of either programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) or PD-1 ligand (PD-L1), and combination therapy showing the highest rate of GI IrAEs, particularly in the liver. To date, we have minimal prospective data on the appropriate diagnosis and management of GI IrAEs, and recommendations are based largely on retrospective data and expert opinion. Although clinical diagnoses of GI IrAEs are common, biopsy is the gold standard for diagnosis of both immunotherapy-induced enterocolitis and hepatitis and can play an important role in excluding competing, though less common, diagnoses and ensuring optimal management. GI IrAEs typically respond to high-dose corticosteroids, though a significant fraction of patients requires secondary immune suppression. For colitis, both TNF-α blockade with infliximab and integrin inhibition with vedolizumab have proved highly effective in corticosteroid-refractory cases. Detailed guidelines have been published for the management of low-grade GI IrAEs. In the setting of more severe toxicities, involvement of a GI specialist is generally recommended. The purpose of this review is to survey the available literature and provide management recommendations focused on the GI specialist.

To provide recommendations on the use of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitors (PARPis) for management of epithelial ovarian, tubal, or primary peritoneal cancer (EOC).

To update the ASCO guideline on the recommended prevention and treatment approaches in the management of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) in adult cancer survivors.

Rheumatic and musculoskeletal immune-related adverse events (irAEs) are observed in about 10% of patients with cancer receiving checkpoint inhibitors (CPIs). Given the recent emergence of these events and the lack of guidance for rheumatologists addressing them, a European League Against Rheumatism task force was convened to harmonise expert opinion regarding their identification and management.

Children with cancer often undergo long treatment trajectories involving repeated needle procedures that potentially cause pain and distress. As part of a comprehensive effort to develop clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) to address pain prevention and management in children with cancer, we aimed to provide recommendations on the pharmacological and psychological management of procedure-related pain and distress.

With the development of innovative cancer treatments over recent decades, the cost of cancer care has risen exponentially, limiting patient access to patented originator biotherapeutics in many countries. The introduction of biosimilars to the market has created new opportunities as well the need for changes in practice within healthcare institutions. A ‘biosimilar’ is a biotherapeutic product which is highly similar in terms of quality, safety and efficacy to an already licensed originator product. Although biosimilars lack clinically meaningful differences in therapeutic activity as compared to the originator product, these complex biological molecules are not considered identical chemical copies, unlike generics, and minor differences in molecular structure and inactive compounds may exist. A thorough understanding of these differences and their clinical implications is necessary for optimising medicines-use practices involving biosimilars. This position statement, developed by the International Society of Oncology Pharmacy Practitioners Biosimilars Taskforce, aims to provide the global oncology pharmacy community with guidance to support decisions around biosimilar use. The 11 statements cover the regulation and evaluation of biosimilars, practical issues around local implementation, the education of healthcare staff and patients, and the requirement for ongoing pharmacovigilance and outcome monitoring.

The development of novel antitumor agents and accompanying biomarkers has improved survival across several tumor types. Previously, we published provisional clinical opinion for the diagnosis and use of immunotherapy in patients with deficient DNA mismatch repair tumors. Recently, efficacy of tropomyosin receptor kinase inhibitors against neurotrophic receptor tyrosine kinase (NTRK) fusion gene-positive advanced solid tumors have been established as the second tumor-agnostic treatment, making it necessary to develop the guideline prioritized for these patients.

Cancer and cardiovascular (CV) disease are the most prevalent diseases in the developed world. Evidence increasingly shows that these conditions are interlinked through common risk factors, coincident in an ageing population, and are connected biologically through some deleterious effects of anticancer treatment on CV health. Anticancer therapies can cause a wide spectrum of short- and long-term cardiotoxic effects. An explosion of novel cancer therapies has revolutionised this field and dramatically altered cancer prognosis. Nevertheless, these new therapies have introduced unexpected CV complications beyond heart failure. Common CV toxicities related to cancer therapy are defined, along with suggested strategies for prevention, detection and treatment. This ESMO consensus article proposes to define CV toxicities related to cancer or its therapies and provide guidance regarding prevention, screening, monitoring and treatment of CV toxicity. The majority of anticancer therapies are associated with some CV toxicity, ranging from asymptomatic and transient to more clinically significant and long-lasting cardiac events. It is critical however, that concerns about potential CV damage resulting from anticancer therapies should be weighed against the potential benefits of cancer therapy, including benefits in overall survival. CV disease in patients with cancer is complex and treatment needs to be individualised. The scope of cardio-oncology is wide and includes prevention, detection, monitoring and treatment of CV toxicity related to cancer therapy, and also ensuring the safe development of future novel cancer treatments that minimise the impact on CV health. It is anticipated that the management strategies discussed herein will be suitable for the majority of patients. Nonetheless, the clinical judgment of physicians remains extremely important; hence, when using these best clinical practices to inform treatment options and decisions, practitioners should also consider the individual circumstances of their patients on a case-by-case basis.

Despite ototoxicity being a prevalent consequence of cisplatin chemotherapy, little guidance exists on interventions to prevent this permanent and progressive adverse event. To develop a clinical practice guideline for the prevention of cisplatin-induced ototoxicity in children and adolescents with cancer, we convened an international, multidisciplinary panel of experts and patient advocates to update a systematic review of randomised trials for the prevention of cisplatin-induced ototoxicity. The systematic review identified 27 eligible adult and paediatric trials that evaluated amifostine, sodium diethyldithiocarbamate or disulfiram, systemic sodium thiosulfate, intratympanic therapies, and cisplatin infusion duration. Regarding systemic sodium thiosulfate, the panel made a strong recommendation for administration in non-metastatic hepatoblastoma, a weak recommendation for administration in other non-metastatic cancers, and a weak recommendation against its routine use in metastatic cancers. Amifostine, sodium diethyldithiocarbamate, and intratympanic therapy should not be routinely used. Cisplatin infusion duration should not be altered as a means to reduce ototoxicity. Further research to determine the safety of sodium thiosulfate in patients with metastatic cancer is encouraged.

Patients preparing to undergo gonadotoxic medical therapy, radiation therapy, or gonadectomy should be provided with prompt counseling regarding available options for fertility preservation for iatrogenic infertility. Fertility preservation can best be provided by comprehensive programs designed and equipped to confront the unique challenges facing these patients. This document replaces the document with a similar name, last published in 2013.