When treating patients with chemotherapy plus an immunotherapy agent, a multidisciplinary team should be on call to manage adverse events (AEs), explained Matthew A. Gubens, MD, MS, associate professor of thoracic medical oncology at the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center. 

The combination is usually well-tolerated, with typical chemotherapy AEs occurring, such as nausea and vomiting. When it comes to immunotherapy, the same AEs that would be expected if the drug was given as a single agent could be expected, Gubens said. 

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A multidisciplinary care team is needed when treating patients who are given a combination of chemotherapy and immunotherapy.

Matthew A. Gubens, MD

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It Takes a Team: Treating Adverse Events