SSO_ACHL Virtual Tumor Board: Checkpoint Blockade in the Adjuvant and Neoadjuvant Settings: Key Considerations for the Surgical Oncologist

Activity Overview

This is a case-based, multi-disciplinary virtual tumor board activity meant to provide surgical oncologists with information relative to treating the cancer patient.

Topic
Checkpoint Blockade in the Adjuvant and Neoadjuvant Settings: Key Considerations for the Surgical Oncologist.

This activity is being brought to you through a collaborative effort between The Society of Surgical Oncology (SSO) and The Academy for Continued Healthcare Learning (ACHL).

Faculty

The faculty for this activity are listed below:

G. Travis Clifton, MD (Moderator)
Brooke Army Medical Center

Mihir M. Shah, MD (Panelist)
Emory University / Winship Cancer Institute

Salma Jabbour, MD (Panelist)
Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey

Howard Hochster, MD (Panelist)
Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey

Onkar Khullar, MD, MSc (Panelist)
Emory University / Winship Cancer Institute

Program Description

A multidisciplinary panel of faculty discuss the use of neoadjuvant and adjuvant immunotherapy for esophageal and gastric cancers in this virtual tumor board. Throughout the case discussions, faculty discuss how to properly incorporate immunotherapies into care plans based on the latest clinical trial data and recommendations. The faculty also highlights the role of biomarkers in identifying eligible patients and ongoing clinical trials that will further impact the use of immunotherapies in gastroesophageal cancers.

"As of May 27, 2022, the FDA has approved nivolumab in combination with fluoropyrimidine- and platinum-containing chemotherapy and nivolumab plus ipilimumab as a first-line treatment for adult patients with unresectable advanced or metastatic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma regardless of PD-L1 status."

Target Audience

This activity is intended for all surgeons and other health care professionals who are involved in the treatment of patients with gastric and esophageal cancer.

Activity Purpose

The introduction of immunotherapies has paved the way for new standards of care in the treatment of gastroesophageal cancers. Surgical oncologists must weigh the use of immunotherapy as they assess how to improve recurrence free survival in patients with resectable disease. This activity offers guidance and perspectivrs from expert faculty to help surgical oncologists integrate immunotherapies into neoadjuvant and adjuvant approaches. Additionally, the faculty provide insightsinto the future for immunotherapies, based on ongoing clinical trials.

Learning Objectives

At the conclusion of this activity, participants should be able to:

Describe the mechanistic rationale for the role of immunotherapies in earlier stage gastric and esophageal cancer
Summarize available and ongoing clinical trial data on the use of immune checkpoint inhibitors as adjuvant or neoadjuvant therapy in resectable gastric and esophageal cancers
Translate the latest clinical trial data to identify appropriate patients with significant recurrence risk who may benefit from approved or emerging uses of neoadjuvant or adjuvant immunotherapy
Assess emerging biomarkers for ICIs in the early disease setting and their potential predictive role in assessing long term benefits

Accreditation

The Society of Surgical Oncology (SSO) is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

Designation

The Society of Surgical Oncology designates this internet enduring course for a maximum of 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit ™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

The SSO has approved this activity for up to 1 self-assessment credit which meets the requirement of the self-assessment component of the American Board of Surgery (ABS) Continuous Certification Program.

Requirements for Earning Credit and Method of Participation

This activity consists educational content, a self-assessment exam, and an evaluation. Learners must view the activity content, complete the self-assessment exam and achieve a minimum score of 75%. Learners will be able to review the content and repeat the self-assessment exam as many times as needed. Upon achieving a score of 75% or higher, learners will be asked to complete a post-activity evaluation. A certificate of credit or participation will be available upon successful submission of the post-activity evaluation.

Estimated Time to Complete Activity

The estimated time to complete this entire activity is 1 hour.

Release Date

December 22, 2021

CME Expiration Date

December 22, 2022

Disclosures

As required by the ACCME Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Education, all planners, reviewers, presenters, instructors, moderators, authors, and other individuals in a position to control or influence the content of an activity must disclose ALL financial relationships with any ineligible company that have occurred within the past 24 months. Ineligible companies are those that cannot be accredited in the ACCME System and whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients.

As the accredited provider, SSO is responsible for identifying relevant financial relationships between individuals in control of educational content and ineligible companies and managing these to ensure they do not introduce commercial bias into the education. Financial relationships of any dollar amount are defined as relevant if the educational content is related to the business lines or products of the ineligible company.

All identified conflicts of interest must be resolved, and the educational content vetted for fair balance, scientific objectivity, and appropriateness of patient care recommendations. If you perceive bias while participating in this activity, please advise us of the circumstances when completing your postactivity evaluation form.

All identified conflicts of interests have been resolved.

Faculty

G. Travis Clifton, MD has disclosed the following financial relationships: Parthenon Therapeutics - Employee, Stocks

Mihir Shah, MD, MSc, has disclosed no financial relationships.

Salma Jabbour, MD has disclosed the following financial relationship:Merck & Co. - Consultant, Contracted Research; IMX Medical - Consultant; Syntactx - Consultant; ASTRO - Speaker

Onkar Khullar, MD has disclosed no financial relationships

Howard Hochster, MD has disclosed the following financial relationship: Bayer - Consultant; Genentech - Consultant; Merck - Consultant; TRIGR - Consultant, Stocks; Processa - Consultant; Natera - Speaker

Planners, Reviewers, and Staff

Timothy Fitzgerald, MD, CME Committee Reviewer, has disclosed no financial relationships.

Ibrahim Sallam, MD, CME Committee Reviewer, has disclosed no financial relationships.

Krystine Hansen, CAE and Kelley Gazer, Society of Surgical Oncology, have disclosed no financial relationships.

Michelle Forcier, Natasha Mitchner, Lisa Keckich, Sara Brykalski, Nicolle Rochino, Vanessa Senatore, Amanda Kaczerski, Katlyn Cooper, Emily Eennett and Ritesh Kothari, Academy for Continued Healthcare Learning, have disclosed no financial relationships.

Patti Stella, CAE, CHCP, Director of Education, Society of Surgical Oncology, has disclosed the following financial relationships: Horizon Pharmaceutical PLC – Stocks; SPDR Biotech – Stocks.

Disclaimer

The primary purpose of the Society of Surgical Oncology's enduring material is educational. Information, as well as technologies, products, and/or services, discussed are intended to inform participants about the knowledge, techniques, and experiences of specialists who are willing to share such information with colleagues. A diversity of professional opinions exists in the specialty, and the Society of Surgical Oncology disclaims any and all liability for damages to any individual using the materials and for all claims which may result from the use of information, technologies, products, and/or services discussed.

Disclosure of Unlabeled Use

This educational activity may include discussions of unlabeled/unapproved uses of drugs or devices. Participants are advised to refer to the official prescribing information for each product for discussion of approved indications, contraindications, and warnings.

Opinions expressed in this educational activity are those of the expert contributors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Society of Surgical Oncology or any other organization associated with this activity.

Acknowledgment

This activity is supported by an educational grant from Merck & Co.

Privacy and Confidentiality

For information about the Society of Surgical Oncology’s privacy policy and associated disclaimer, please visit this site: Privacy Policy - Society of Surgical Oncology (surgonc.org)

System Requirements

System requirements for this activity can be found by clicking the Help button. For technical support, please contact us at expertED@surgonc.org

Summary


Availability:	On-Demand
	Expires on Dec 22, 2022


Cost:	FREE

Credit Offered:

1 CME / Self-Assessment Point

1 Participation Credit