This is part 2 of a 2-part series. Read part 1 here.

Case scenario

Peter, 33, presents to your pharmacy requesting something for the burning feeling he is experiencing in his upper abdomen. He explains he has been experiencing this discomfort for the past few days around mid-morning, after he has taken his steroid medicine with his breakfast, which consists only of a morning coffee. You discuss his medical history and learn that he has been diagnosed with stage IV metastatic melanoma and has been receiving immunotherapy with pembrolizumab. You ascertain that he is currently taking prednisolone 25 mg a day and ibuprofen 400 mg when required for mild muscle aches.

Learning objectives

After successful completion of this CPD activity, pharmacists should be able to:

  • Describe the rationale for checkpoint inhibitor therapy
  • Describe the adverse effects of immune checkpoint inhibitors
  • Explain the pharmacist’s role in supporting a patient receiving immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy.

Competency standards (2016) addressed: 1.1, 1.4, 1.5, 2.2, 3.1, 3.2, 3.5

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Introduction

The article ‘Cutaneous melanoma: the role of oral targeted therapies’, published in the November edition of Australian Pharmacist, provided an overview of the epidemiology, pathophysiology, diagnosis and staging of melanoma, along with the use of oral targeted therapies for the treatment of BRAF V600 mutant melanoma.1 This article will focus on the use of im

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