Optimizing Adverse Event Management for Bispecific Antibodies in the Community

Research from ASH 2025 showed the importance of standardized clinical protocols for adverse event (AE) management to ensure safe and consistent patient care, particularly as bispecific therapies become more widely adopted outside academic centers. Tara M. Graff, DO, director of clinical research at Mission Cancer + Blood at the University of Iowa Health Care, shared insight into her experience with bispecific administration and highlighted that having clear, concise, and reproducible protocols is critical, especially for teams delivering these therapies for the first time. She described how personal “cheat sheets” and standardized documents—covering AE identification, grading, and management—serve as vital tools for clinicians, helping them avoid errors and confidently manage complications such as cytokine release syndrome or neurotoxicity. While exact protocols may vary across practices, maintaining consistency in approach ensures that patients receive comparable quality of care, whether in small community practices or larger academic centers.

Effective communication between community practices and academic or hospital partners is another key factor. Graff noted that poor handoffs can lead to gaps in care, missed follow-up, or unnecessary inpatient referrals. She advocated for structured communication systems, leveraging technology such as electronic medical records, secure messaging apps, or dedicated nurse navigators to ensure timely updates on patient status, lab results, and AE progression. Regular multidisciplinary meetings, akin to tumor boards, can further strengthen coordination and trust across sites, enhancing both patient safety and operational efficiency.

Optimizing bispecific AE management in the community requires a combination of standardized clinical protocols, reliable educational tools, and robust communication networks with academic partners. Such approaches can enable safe outpatient delivery, improve patient outcomes, and expand access to advanced therapies beyond tertiary centers.