Immunotherapy toxicities: less common and rare side-effects, nurse-led assessment and management

This webinar was designed for nurses seeking to expand their knowledge of less common and rare side-effects of immunotherapy in melanoma treatment. While some immunotherapy toxicities are common but manageable, less common and rare side-effects can create additional complexities. This session explored immunotherapy toxicities and presented case studies of less common and rare side-effects, discussing implications for nurses in assessment and management, and gave nurses insights into nurse-led approaches to potentially serious or life-threatening side-effects.

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01 Welcome and speaker introductions (opens in a new tab) 0:00 → Introduces clinical nurse consultants Donna Milne and Alethea Lobo. 02 Overview: the spectrum, timing and severity of immunotherapy toxicities (opens in a new tab) 3:13 → Covers how immunotherapy can affect any organ, when different toxicities tend to appear, and why grading and early recognition matter. 03 Case study: severe colitis in an elderly patient with limited support (opens in a new tab) 13:02 → Follows an 80-year-old man's difficult treatment course with colitis, complicated by his reluctance to report symptoms and lack of support at home. 04 Understanding rare immunotherapy toxicities (opens in a new tab) 29:48 → Explains how rare toxicities differ from common ones in recognition, diagnosis and risk of poorer outcomes. 05 Case study: John and immunotherapy-induced myocarditis (opens in a new tab) 32:42 → Follows John's melanoma history and treatment choice, then the onset and clinical features of his life-threatening myocarditis. 06 Diagnosing and managing myocarditis: guidelines and the nursing role (opens in a new tab) 49:53 → Covers clinical guidelines for managing myocarditis and the nurse's role in coordinating care before, during and after hospital admission. 07 Closing remarks (opens in a new tab) 54:02 → Wraps up the presentations, highlighting the complexity of immunotherapy toxicity management.

After this session, nurses will be able to:

Recognise the spectrum of toxicities

Recognise the spectrum of immunotherapy toxicities.

Differentiate serious and life-threatening effects

Differentiate between less common but serious and rare but potentially life-threatening side effects.

Nursing approaches to assessment and management

Discuss nursing approaches in assessing and managing less common and rare side effects.

Patient education tools and language

Equip nurses with tools and language to educate patients on recognising and reporting symptoms.

Originally held

Thursday 17 July 2025

Online webinar, part of the Melanoma Nursing Webinar Program.

Who this is for

Nurses

Nurses seeking to expand their knowledge of less common and rare side-effects of immunotherapy in melanoma treatment.

Speaker

Alethea Lobo

Melanoma Clinical Nurse Consultant, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre; Co-chair, Melanoma and Skin Cancer Nurses Organisation

Alethea has extensive experience in caring for patients with all stages of melanoma, with a particular focus on the identification and management of treatment toxicities. Alethea is passionate about raising awareness of melanoma and other skin cancers amongst nurses so together they can better support patients.

Speaker

Donna Milne

Clinical Nurse Consultant, Melanoma and Skin Cancer Service, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre

Donna's main areas of interest include management of immunotherapy and targeted therapy toxicities and supporting and educating patients with advanced cancer and their carers. Donna's PhD examined the perceptions of palliative care held by patients with advanced cancer. She was a founding co-chair of MSCNO, the Melanoma and Skin Cancer Nurses Organisation, and has a Life Fellowship with CNSA.

Patient assessment and education: Immune checkpoint inhibitors for immunotherapy (opens in a new tab) eviQ Education Module →

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Resource details

Course type

Webinars

Duration

60 mins

Price

$0.00

Curriculum Area

Treatment (incl. Supportive Care)

Monitoring and Surveillance

Speciality

Clinician

Nurse

Cancer therapy

Clinical care

Immunotherapy

Melanoma

Nursing

Skin cancers

Immunotherapy toxicities: less common and rare side-effects, nurse-led assessment and management

Event recording

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What you will learn

The event in brief