Advances in immunotherapy and targeted therapy have significantly improved the prognosis of a subset of people with certain metastatic malignancies, including metastatic melanoma, non-small cell lung cancer and renal cell carcinoma. People may experience prolonged responses to treatment with durable disease control. There is now growing recognition of this emerging novel group of cancer survivors. However, the concept of a survivorship phase in the care of this patient group is a relatively recent phenomenon, and major gaps exist in the understanding and management of survivorship needs in this survivor group.
This presentation will examine the physical, psychological, social and functional challenges and unmet needs of people who are long-term responders to immunotherapy and targeted therapy, focusing on lessons learnt from people with metastatic melanoma and non-small cell lung cancer. We will consider the challenging conversations that can arise in the care of these patients and encourage health care professionals to initiate these conversations. We will also consider future research directions for the field, including the development of tailored models of survivorship care.