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Regional Content Customized for Australia

This section contains resources customized for the Australian healthcare professional.

UPDATE! Stage IV Decision-Support Tool

The Decision-Support Tool has been updated to reflect changes in therapeutic options, including emerging options and longer-term data on established regimens. We’d like to thank Tamara Dawson and her team, of the Melanoma & Skin Cancer Advocacy Network, for their careful review of this content update.

Welcome to this guide, Stage IV Melanoma Treatment Options: Making the Decision That’s Right for You. You can use this guide to discuss therapeutic options for managing Stage IV melanoma with your patients.

The document addresses

  • Stage IV melanoma clinical picture, biomarkers and pathology, and disease and patient factors involved in decision making
  • Efficacy, safety, and administration of targeted therapies, immune checkpoint inhibitors, and other therapies used for stage IV melanoma
  • Management of brain metastases, including radiation therapy
  • Clinical trials, including an overview of emerging therapies being studied
  • Diagnosis (including biopsy techniques) as well as an overview of imaging

Developed in collaboration with the Melanoma Skin Cancer Advocacy Network (MSCAN).

Click Here to Download

New videos from oncology experts! Immunotherapy Combination Therapy: Current and Emerging Approaches

In this video series, Lavinia Spain, MBBS(Hons), BMedSci FRACP, from Peter MacCallum Cancer Center discusses current and emerging perspectives on the use of combination immunotherapy in oncology. These videos, developed for the Australian audience, discuss the rationale for combination therapy, the data supporting the combination approaches, patient selection for combination immunotherapy versus other options, managing the more complex side effects associated with this approach, as well as new strategies of combined immunotherapy. We hope that this content will be useful for you to select and manage the best immunotherapy regimens for your cancer patients.

 

Rationale for Combined Immunotherapy

 

What are the data to support the use of combination Immunotherapy?

 

Patient Selection for Combination Immunotherapy

 

Managing the Complex Adverse Effect Profile of Combination Immunotherapy

 

Emerging Strategies for Combination Immunotherapy

COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations for IO Patients

In the following videos, Professor Grant McArthur, Executive Director of the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Center and Co-Chair of the Victorian COVID-19 Cancer Network, discusses the use of COVID-19 vaccines in patients with cancer, particularly in those receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). The content is customised to the Australian region. This content was recorded on October 5, 2021 and reflects the status of vaccine approvals as of that date. For an updated list of the currently available vaccines approved in Australia, please click here https://covid19.trackvaccines.org/country/australia/

 

Review of available COVID-19 vaccines

 

Timing of vaccines with different therapies (eg, recipients of stem cell transplantation/CAR T-cells)

 

COVID-19 vaccines and ICIs (sequencing, monitoring, and side effects)

 

Addressing frequently asked questions and myths about COVID-19 vaccines

 

Effective patient educational techniques and strategies to address vaccine hesitancy

 

What to look for in the future regarding COVID-19 vaccines in patients with cancer

Stage III Decision-Support Materials

Updated Stage III Decision Support Tool

The Decision-Support Tool has been updated with information you need to know about outcomes for Stage III melanoma, long-term data for adjuvant therapies, and additional resources, including content specific for caregivers.

Developed in collaboration with the Melanoma & Skin Cancer Advocacy Network.

Click Here to Download

New Stage III Companion Piece

Want to learn how to use the Stage III Decision-Support Tool? Peruse frequently asked questions about Stage III melanoma and learn how to use the support tool to guide your decision making.

Developed in collaboration with Melanoma & Skin Cancer Advocacy Network.

Click Here to Download

Optimising Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic

In the series of videos below, Suzanne Bartlett, RN Grad Cert(Can& Pall), MAdvNursPrac(NPRAC), of Ballarat Regional Integrated Cancer Centre, shares perspectives and tips for optimising care during these challenging times. Note that the phase of lock down discussed in these videos was specific to the time of the recording. In addition, the extended dosing interval discussed for pembrolizumab was limited to the melanoma indication at the time of the recording.

Optimising Telemedicine

Use of Extended Dosing Intervals for Immunotherapy

Changes in Infusion Practices

Minimising the Impact on Clinical Trials

Care Step Pathways

This section provides stand-alone Care Step Pathways (CSPs) that have been customized for the Australian audience. We wish to thank Suzanne Bartlett, RN, Grad Cert(Can&Pall), MAdvNursPrac(NPRAC), of the Ballarat Regional Integrated Cancer Centre for thoughtful review of these materials.

List of CSPs

For Immunotherapy (Checkpoint Inhibitors):
Ipilimumab
Nivolumab
Pembrolizumab
Nivolumab/Ipilimumab

For Intralesional Therapy:
Talimogene laherparepvec; T-VEC

Patient Resources/Action Plans

This section contains the customizable action plans for patients with different tumor types that have been customized for the Australian  audience. We wish to thank Tamara Dawson, of the Melanoma & Skin Cancer Advocacy Network, for her helpful review of these materials.

Talimogene laherparepvec; T-VEC

Pembrolizumab

Nivolumab

Nivolumab/Ipilimumab

Ipilimumab

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