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. 2025 Feb 27;32(3):140.
doi: 10.3390/curroncol32030140.

Enhancing Care Through a Virtual Canadian Community of Practice for Managing Immune-Related Adverse Events

Khashayar Esfahani  1   2 , John Walker  3 , Kevin Bambury  4 , Eoin O'Carroll  4 , Stephanie Snow  5
Affiliations

Enhancing Care Through a Virtual Canadian Community of Practice for Managing Immune-Related Adverse Events

Khashayar Esfahani et al. Curr Oncol. .

Abstract

The advent of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) has significantly transformed cancer treatment outcomes. However, these therapies can induce immune-related adverse events (irAEs) that may affect any organ system, sometimes requiring specialized expertise. As ICIs are increasingly used across various tumor types and in earlier treatment settings, not all practitioners have the necessary support network to handle complex irAEs. To address this gap, we collaborated with ONCOassist, a leading app for oncology professionals, to establish the first virtual Canadian Community of Practice (CoP) focused on irAEs. The CoP facilitates continuous learning and improves patient care among Canadian clinicians treating patients with immunotherapy by providing a platform for knowledge exchange and peer-to-peer support. This article outlines the development and growth of the CoP on irAEs, highlighting both successes and challenges. As of May 2024, over a year since its inception, the CoP on irAEs has attracted almost 130 Canadian oncology healthcare professionals, and peer-to-peer interactions and engagement continue to increase. To ensure its long-term sustainability, we plan to evolve and adapt the CoP to meet the needs of the oncology community and address clinical challenges associated with new therapies.

Keywords: community of practice; immune checkpoint inhibitor; irAE; mobile application.

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Conflict of interest statement

K.E., J.W., and S.S. declare no conflicts of interest related to this publication. Authors E.O. and K.B. are founders and employees of ONCOassist. ONCOassist is supported by various pharmaceutical companies both in Canada and internationally. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Survey questions answered by HCPs before accessing the CoP (n = 115). New CoP users were asked to (A) rate their comfort in managing irAEs, with zero being the lowest and ten being the most comfortable, and (B) identify which irAE clinical context they find challenging to manage.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Monthly adoption rate of the COP. The black bars represent new members joining the COP monthly; the grey shaded area represents the total number of actual members to date.
Figure 3
Figure 3
CoP members (A) by province, (B) profession, and (C) tumor type treated.
Figure 4
Figure 4
(A) QR code to download ONCOassist. To access the CoP, users must click on the icon “CoP on irAEs”. First-time users must provide their medical license number and province of practice. HCP credentials are manually validated by ONCOassist within 24 h. (B) Snapshot of the CoP interface and peer-to-peer interaction.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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