Immunotherapies have transformed the way we treat many types of cancer, including skin cancer. 

Immunotherapies, like ipilimumab (Yervoy), nivolumab (Opdivo), and pembrolizumab (Keytruda), have transformed the way we treat many types of cancer, including skin cancer. Although it’s generally safe to deliver, we know that some people at times can experience serious side-effects. As the number of people receiving immunotherapy grows, more and more people will be at risk of developing side-effects. 

Many people with cancer and their carers can also find it difficult to recognise and report immunotherapy side-effects.  Sometimes, it can be difficult to tell whether a side-effect is due to treatment or their cancer (or something else entirely!).  It can then be difficult to know what you can do to manage the side-effect at home or whether it is serious enough to go to hospital.  Therefore, we need to develop systems to empower people with cancer and their carers to monitor for and manage immunotherapy side-effects.

Our team is developing a mobile App to enable people receiving immunotherapy to report their side-effects easily.  This would involve people completing a survey about their side-effects (such as whether they have a rash, diarrhoea or shortness of breath) on a regular basis using the App. They then receive instant feedback about how to manage these issues or whether they need to contact the hospital.  This system is called ‘electronic patient-reported outcome (ePRO) symptom monitoring’. 

We are designing an ePRO Symptom Monitoring System for people having immunotherapy and are inviting patients, carers and clinicians to participate in a survey to help us decide what immunotherapy side-effects to ask people about. 

We are looking for people with cancer who are receiving (or have received) immunotherapy as part of treatment for their skin cancer or their carers to participate. You’ll complete 2 rounds of online surveys (with an additional 3rd survey if needed) about what side-effects of immunotherapy you think are important to monitor for. There is also the option to do a separate survey about what types of features you would like to see in an ePRO symptom monitoring system.

Please note, this survey is no longer active

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For more information, feel free to email Julia Lai-Kwon, Principal Investigator here.