The What, Why, and How of Anti-PD-1/PD-L1 Immunotherapy for Cancer

The What, Why, and How of Anti-PD-1/PD-L1 Immunotherapy for Cancer is organized by PharmCon, Inc.

Release Date: Tuesday, June 9, 2020
Offline Date: Sunday, February 28, 2021
ACPE Expiration Date: Friday, June 2, 2023

Overview:
The immune system is responsible for the recognition and clearance of malignant cells from the human body. This process involves a multitude of tightly-controlled processes that allow actions to be taken on aberrant cells yet spare the normal functioning of tissues. Immunotherapy refers to a class of medications and therapy modalities responsible for utilizing certain small molecules or receptors already involved in the immune system cascade or mimicking their actions. Once activated or reactivated, the immune system can target clinical cancerous lesions. 

This program will highlight immunotherapy history and mechanisms employed in the aid of cancer eradication from the human body. FDA-approved immunotherapy agents will be described including their mechanisms, indications for use, adverse event profile, and use in combination therapy. Future horizons of immunotherapeutic agents will be briefly reviewed.

Learning Objectives:
Pharmacist, Pharmacy Technician and Nurse:
• Distinguish between different mechanisms of action of immuno-oncology agents currently approved by the FDA for the treatment of malignancies.
• List therapeutic indications of immunotherapy agents.
• Identify the adverse event profile of immunotherapy agents and treatment modalities employed for the management of these toxicities.
• Recognize the role of the human immune system in the recognition and eradication of malignant cells from the body.