Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer Publishes Clinical Practice Guideline on Immunotherapy for the Treatment of Breast Cancer

MILWAUKEE, Aug. 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC), the world's leading member-driven organization dedicated to improving cancer patient outcomes by advancing the science and application of cancer immunotherapy, is pleased to announce the publication of the first clinical practice guideline focused on immunotherapy for the treatment of breast cancer.

"It's an exciting time for immunotherapy in breast cancer," said Leisha Emens, MD, PhD, Chair of the SITC Breast Cancer Immunotherapy Guideline Expert Panel. "This new guideline will help clinicians navigate the nuances of a dynamic and rapidly evolving field to offer their patients the benefits immunotherapy may provide."

The new manuscript, "Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) clinical practice guideline on breast cancer," was published in the Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer (JITC), SITC's peer-reviewed online journal, and it will soon be available in SITC's soon-to-debut mobile guidelines app. To develop the manuscript, SITC convened an expert panel including leaders in immunotherapy and breast oncology as well as representation from a patient advocate and breast cancer survivor.

"Immunotherapy is now offering some patients with breast cancer clinically meaningful benefit in early stage and advanced disease," said Jennifer Litton, MD Chair of the SITC Breast Cancer Immunotherapy Guideline Expert Panel, "It is important for clinicians and patients to understand that immunotherapy is very different from traditional breast cancer treatments, and this new guideline offers the expert guidance needed to safely consider these treatments."

Because immunotherapy for breast cancer is a relatively recent innovation, the expert panel developed evidence- and consensus-based recommendations on a wide range of topics including selection of therapies, diagnostics and biomarkers, response monitoring, toxicity management, patient support and quality of life as well as a survey of promising future directions for the field.

"Breast cancer has historically been a disease for which immunotherapy was largely unavailable," said SITC President Patrick Hwu, MD. "The new clinical practice guideline is the first to be published by SITC on breast cancer and is the twelfth manuscript published in SITC's Cancer Immunotherapy Guidelines series. This guideline serves as vital resource for oncologists managing the various unexpected adverse events that may arise with treatment.  This is a pivotal step forward for SITC as the world leader in advancing the science and application of cancer immunotherapy and demonstrates a continued commitment to ensuring that breast cancer patients have the most optimal outcomes while receiving FDA-approved immunotherapies."

In addition to the published manuscript, SITC is also offering a number of different opportunities to help clinicians understand and implement the guidelines into their practice.  One such resource are the live webinars and on-demand modules hosted on the SITC website. SITC will host live, free webinars in 2021 that will focus on this published manuscript and provide attendees with the opportunity to ask questions of expert faculty:

• Immunotherapy for the Treatment of Breast Cancer Guideline Overview – SITC CPG Webinar
  October 29, 2021, 1–2 p.m. ET
  
  
• Practical Management Pearls for Immunotherapy for the Treatment of Breast Cancer – SITC CPG Webinar
  November 17, 2021, 11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. ET
  
  
• Case Studies in Immunotherapy for the Treatment of Breast Cancer – SITC CPG Webinar
  December 1, 2021, 11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. ET
  

Click here to view past SITC Cancer Immunotherapy Guidelines webinars on-demand.

About SITC

Established in 1984, the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) is a nonprofit organization of medical professionals dedicated to improving cancer patient outcomes by advancing the development, science and application of cancer immunotherapy and tumor immunology. SITC is comprised of influential basic and translational scientists, practitioners, health care professionals, government leaders and industry professionals around the globe. Through educational initiatives that foster scientific exchange and collaboration among leaders in the field, SITC aims to one day make the word "cure" a reality for cancer patients everywhere. Learn more about SITC, our educational offerings and other resources at sitcancer.org and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube.

About the SITC Cancer Immunotherapy Guidelines
The SITC Cancer Immunotherapy Guidelines are a collection of clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) developed by leading experts to help hematologists and oncologists determine when and how to best use immunotherapy to treat their patients. The published disease-state specific guidelines provide evidence- and expert consensus-based recommendations on topics including selection of appropriate immunotherapy treatments, toxicity management, biomarkers, and considerations for patient quality of life. SITC has published CPGs for acute leukemia, breast cancer, cutaneous melanoma, head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, immune checkpoint inhibitor-related adverse events, immune effector cell-related adverse events, lymphoma, multiple myeloma, non-small cell lung cancer, prostate cancer, renal cell carcinoma, and urothelial cancer. Additional guidelines in development include those covering hepatocellular carcinoma, nonmelanoma skin cancer, gynecologic cancer, gastrointestinal cancer as well as updates for the melanoma and lung cancer disease settings.

About JITC
Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer (JITC) is the official open access, peer-reviewed online journal of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer featuring an impact factor of 13.751. The journal publishes high-quality articles on all aspects of tumor immunology and cancer immunotherapy, on subjects across the basic science-translational-clinical spectrum. JITC publishes original research articles, literature reviews, position papers and practice guidelines, and case reports; invited commentaries may also be commissioned by the journal editors. These articles, freely accessible at jitc.bmj.com, make JITC the leading forum for tumor immunology and cancer immunotherapy research. Follow JITC on Twitter @jitcancer.

Media Contact:
Thomas Martin, Director of Communications and Membership
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (414) 271-2456

SOURCE The Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer