Advancing the Leadership Role of Pathologists and Laboratory Professionals on the IO Cancer Care Team

Pathologists and laboratory professionals are critical members of the multidisciplinary team, involved in the diagnosis and management of cancer, including immune-related adverse events. Yet, they are often underutilized by tumor boards or cancer care teams in clinical settings.

ASCP is seeking to enhance pathologists’ and laboratory professionals’ engagement in cancer care teams through a newly-launched Immuno-Oncology (IO) Virtual Cancer Committee education module. This online module demonstrates to pathologists and laboratory professionals how they can play a role in their own institution’s cancer committee. It touches on practical issues that a community-based cancer center might encounter, ranging from topics affecting the clinical and administrative perspectives to focusing on identification and management of immune-related adverse events.

The first content area examines biomarker testing from clinical and administrative perspectives. The second content area focuses on treatment-related adverse events so that, when patients are treated with the different drugs, pathologists and laboratory professionals are aware of all the possible reactions that could occur.

Working with Q Synthesis, ASCP has been implementing its IO education through a series of innovative quality improvement projects in community hospitals nationwide. One of those hospitals is Southside Regional Medical Center, in Petersburg Virginia.

ASCP recruited a multidisciplinary team from Southside Regional Medical Center—a pathologist, a radiation oncologist and a nurse who is a service line director with both a clinical role and an administrative role—to participate in the development of the education module. 

We are a small cancer center and wanted to see if we are doing the right thing, especially in our ordering of molecular testing,” said John Summerville, MD, Laboratory Director of Southside Regional Medical Center, who served on the Virtual Cancer Committee.

“Our participation confirmed that we are up to date in the ordering of molecular testing, although in the short period of time since our retrospective study, we have gone from requesting individual tests (ALK, EGFR, ROS1) to next generation sequencing. This includes those tests and many others which may become important to our oncologists in the near future,” he continued.

The IO education module follows a typical cancer committee meeting agenda. The cancer committee is tasked with developing a set of clinical and programmatic goals around the use of immune checkpoint inhibitors: clinical goals involving the diagnosis, treatment, services and care of the cancer program’s patients.

During the presentation, discussions leads to group consensus, further discussion, postponement of ideas or other potential outcomes. Topics include the evolving role of IO biomarker testing: test selection, patient criteria, interpretation of results, and considerations regarding treatment-related adverse events.

Participants assess how different interventions may lead to improved patient care. They also assess the role for process changes, systems-level quality improvement projects, clinical education or other team-based interventions. Participants also assess the application of communication and adaptive leadership skills as they face complex challenges around IO biomarker testing and the use of immune checkpoint inhibitors in patients with cancer.

Learn more about the IO Virtual Cancer Committee on the ASCP website at www.ascp.org/immuno-oncology.