About this Research Topic
Hypersensitivity reactions to cancer chemotherapy and biological agents are on the rise. These reactions are potentially severe and even lethal, and can certainly hinder first-line treatment choices in the patients who experience them.
In recent years, rapid drug desensitization has become the therapeutic cornerstone to ensure that these patients receive their first-line treatments regardless of their reactions.
In the hands of expert allergists and dedicated teams, rapid drug desensitization has shown to keep the same survival outcomes for these patients as their non-reactive counterparts, and to be cost-effective.
Concomitantly, the diagnostic and delabeling pathways for these reactions have become more complex and detailed, as new evidence appears.
There are many unmet needs in this field:
- New endophenotypes have been recently described, and we need further evidence on biomarkers and different management pathways.
- Delabeling has recently made its appearance in the field, and has raised questions on patient selection, risk assessment, ideal drug provocation testing protocols, and what resources are needed.
- Recent local innovations to rapid drug desensitization protocols, such as different numbers of bags, opened an array of new options for tailored management.
- The outcomes and impact in disease response have been barely explored
- Patient satisfaction and quality of life in desensitized patients have not been explored
- Last, but not least, the mechanisms of many types of reactions and how rapid drug desensitization works are still unclear. Further basic research is necessary to reach a further understanding of this problem and improve our clinical management.
This Research Topic on the diagnosis and management of allergy to chemotherapy and biologics has been created with the aim to provide further high-quality evidence on how to diagnose and manage these reactions, as well as trying to further understand the mechanisms of these reactions, which should then aid us to identifying biomarkers, to better profile patient selection, and to work towards a Personalized Medicine approach.
Many allergy departments have already implemented these techniques to their clinical practice, and we strongly encourage them to share their experience with us.
In recent years, rapid drug desensitization has become the therapeutic cornerstone to ensure that these patients receive their first-line treatments regardless of their reactions.
In the hands of expert allergists and dedicated teams, rapid drug desensitization has shown to keep the same survival outcomes for these patients as their non-reactive counterparts, and to be cost-effective.
Concomitantly, the diagnostic and delabeling pathways for these reactions have become more complex and detailed, as new evidence appears.
There are many unmet needs in this field:
- New endophenotypes have been recently described, and we need further evidence on biomarkers and different management pathways.
- Delabeling has recently made its appearance in the field, and has raised questions on patient selection, risk assessment, ideal drug provocation testing protocols, and what resources are needed.
- Recent local innovations to rapid drug desensitization protocols, such as different numbers of bags, opened an array of new options for tailored management.
- The outcomes and impact in disease response have been barely explored
- Patient satisfaction and quality of life in desensitized patients have not been explored
- Last, but not least, the mechanisms of many types of reactions and how rapid drug desensitization works are still unclear. Further basic research is necessary to reach a further understanding of this problem and improve our clinical management.
This Research Topic on the diagnosis and management of allergy to chemotherapy and biologics has been created with the aim to provide further high-quality evidence on how to diagnose and manage these reactions, as well as trying to further understand the mechanisms of these reactions, which should then aid us to identifying biomarkers, to better profile patient selection, and to work towards a Personalized Medicine approach.
Many allergy departments have already implemented these techniques to their clinical practice, and we strongly encourage them to share their experience with us.
Keywords: Drug allergy, hypersensitivity, anaphylaxis, delabeling, drug desensitization, drug provocation test, drug challenge, skin test, personalized medicine, AllergoOncology, chemotherapy, biological agents
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