ALBERT

Description: Background Adherence to the prescribed dose of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) is critical to maximize treatment effectiveness in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). While patient-centered outcome studies are lacking in this area, literature has shown that a significant proportion of patients report both intentional and unintentional non-adherence. Objective The main objective of this multivariate analysis was to identify risk factors that might predict intentional non-adherence to TKIs in CML. Methods The CML Advocates Network, connecting 79 CML patient groups from 63 countries, conducted an international project investigating patterns of medication-taking behaviors of CML patients, supported by CML investigator groups in Germany, Italy and France. We sought to demonstrate the relationship between 16 factors and adherence in this multinational cohort. A web-based survey was launched in 12 languages, enrolling CML patients from Sept 2012 to Jan 2013. The identical questionnaire was provided to a cohort of patients recruited in clinics in France, Germany and Italy, returned by patients in a pre-stamped envelope to an independent data center. Questions included potential factors associated with non-adherence as well as on patients' perception of disease and treatment burden. Based on previous literature and on clinical relevance, a pool of 16 candidate factors, potentially predicting intentional non-adherence, was selected for analysis. These included: frequency of CML medication, co-payment for CML treatment, and current TKI therapy. Patients who reported having skipped intentionally one or more doses over the last year were considered as “intentional non-adherers”. Univariate logistic regression analysis was performed to examine the impact of pre-selected candidate factors on the probability of intentional non-adherence. Two multivariate models were fitted based on line of therapy received by patients (i.e. first line and second or greater lines of therapy). Results This patient-led study is the largest study conducted to date on the influencers of non-adherence in CML. Overall, 2546 adult CML patients (47.6% female) under TKI treatment from 79 countries responded to the survey. 2151 patients responded online, 395 questionnaires were returned on paper. No significant difference on intentional non-adherence was observed between paper or online responses. Median age of patients was 51 years (range 18-96) and median time from diagnosis was 4 years (0-27). Overall, 51.6% of all respondents reported having missed at least one dose unintentionally over the last year, and 19.5% did so intentionally. This analysis regards the intentional non-adherent population (n=490). Of those, 60% were on imatinib, 20% on nilotinib, 14% on dasatinib, 6% on other TKIs. Several factors predicted intentional non-adherence in univariate analysis, including education level (P=0.016) and co-payment for TKIs (P=0.005). For patients on first line TKI (n=1551), the following factors independently predicted a higher likelihood of being intentional non-adherers: younger age (P=0.015), longer time since diagnosis (P

Description: Background In Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML), Treatment-free Remission (TFR) refers to having a stable deep molecular response without the need for ongoing Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor (TKI) treatment. While first recommendations exist about how to manage stopping and re-starting therapy, based on data from the EURO-SKI study, much is still unknown about the experiences of those considering and undertaking TFR. Through this study, we sought to obtain quantitative evidence of patient experience that has previously only been anecdotal and to identify areas of unmet needs. One strong theme to emerge was patients' differing views on the need for psychological support. Method A global online survey was conducted, recruiting patients through CML patient associations, via online forums, social media and other methods. The questionnaire was designed by an expert panel of eight CML patients to capture the experiences of people along all phases of the TFR journey. The different phases were classified as: Phase I - Considerations around stopping treatment; Phase II - Probation period (experiences during the first 6 months of stopping treatment); Phase IIIA -Restarting treatment (experiences where treatment had to restart due to molecular reoccurrence), and Phase IIIB - Long-term remission (experiences of being in long-term, treatment-free remission). Once the question set was agreed, the questionnaire went through two rounds of testing by eight volunteers. This exercise contributed towards refining the questionnaire into a finished version. The questionnaire was translated into eleven languages: Arabic, Danish, English, Finnish, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Russian and Spanish. Fieldwork lasted 20 weeks. Results A total of 1016 responses were collected from CML patients across 68 countries. Patients only answered the sections of the questionnaire that were relevant for them. All 1016 had experience of Phase I, 494 (49%) had experience of Phase II, 159 (16%) had experience of Phase IIIA, and 203 (20%) had experience of IIIB. Of the 494 patients who stopped treatment, 32% said disease reoccurred and 41% reported being in long-term remission (this includes

Description: Introduction: Medication non-adherence (MNA) to tyrosine kinase inhibitors TKIs occurs in around 30% of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients and is associated with adverse outcomes (Noens, 2009; Marin, 2010). Data on adherence-enhancing interventions (AEIs) in CML are scarce and an improvement in dose implementation has yet to be shown. Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of a multilevel AEI in improving MNA to TKIs in CML. Methods: We initiated a prospective multicenter (N=4) pre-post adherence intervention pilot study in CML (NCT01768689). Patients were eligible if they had received at least 3 months of imatinib, nilotinib or dasatinib for CML, irrespective of treatment line or subsequent duration. TKI adherence was assessed for 7.5 months using electronic monitoring (EM) with MEMS (Medical Events Monitoring System 6) and BAASIS. The MEMS bottle cap contains a micro-electronic circuit that registers dates and times of cap opening. The BAASIS is a 4-item patient reported outcome used to assess adherence in solid organ transplants and CML (Cleemput, 2007; Noens, 2009). We designed an investigational AEI to address known barriers to TKI adherence in CML (Figures 1 & 2), using components with proven efficacy in improving MNA in chronic diseases. The key elements were: behavioral change techniques (BCT); motivational interviewing (MI; Figure 2); and multilevel including patient (Figure 1), peer group and health care provider levels (not shown). The BCT taxonomy developed by Michie et al (Ann Behav Med, 2013) was used in Figures 1 & 2 to describe the intervention and to facilitate its reproducibility. During the first 4.5 months of adherence monitoring, MNA was managed as per local practice. The intervention phase was then initiated (Figure 1) and adherence measured for a further 3 months. The pre and post-intervention periods were defined as the 3 months before and after the initiation of the AEI, respectively. The primary outcome measure was EM adherence using MEMS, and primary analysis was the comparison between pre and post-intervention adherence, expressed as the percentage of days with drug taken as prescribed. Generalized Estimating Equation model was used to adjust for correlation between adherence levels pre and post intervention, measured in the same patient. We also explored the association between adherence according to BAASIS (at 3 different time-points during the pre/post intervention periods) and the corresponding 1-month periods of EM adherence. Results: Between 10/2013 and 7/2014, we enrolled 55 CML patients (median age, 60.5 years; median current TKI duration, 34 months) receiving imatinib (59%), nilotinib (18%) or dasatinib (23%). Median pre-intervention EM adherence was 97.5% (min 48%; 10th percentile: 82.6%; 25th: 92.1%; 75th: 99.3%; 90th: 100%; max 100%) and the mean was 93%. Non-membership in a CML patients group (51%), living alone (18%) and 3rd line treatment (9%) were each risk factors for pre-intervention MNA on multivariate analysis, whereby mean adherence was 7% (p

Description: Background: Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) prolong the survival of patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). Nowadays, the life expectancy of these patients is approaching that of an age-matched population. Since imatinib, was first introduced 20 years ago, several newer more potent TKIs, have been approved for CML. While these drugs are effective, they come with the trade-off of adverse effects, some are common to all and some are drug-specific. Most patients will receive prolonged treatment, therefore quality of life (QOL) is becoming a major concern. QOL under these drugs has not been directly compared. Herein, we compared the QOL of patients with CML treated with imatinib, dasatinib and nilotinib using patient reported outcomes (PROs) questionnaire. Methods: This nationwide study was a joint initiative of the Israeli CML patients' organization and the division of hematology at Rabin Medical Center, Israel. Patients completed computerized questionnaires that were provided to us by the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC). The questionnaires included 30 items core questionnaire (QLQ-C30), 24 items of CML-specific questionnaire (QLQ-CML24) and additional items that were added by the researchers. Questioners are composed of functional, symptom and global health/QOL scales/items. All scales and single-item measures were standardized and the score ranges from 0 to 100. High score for functional and QOL items/scales represents better function and QOL. High score in symptoms items represents worse symptomatology. We used the Mann-Whitney test to compare medians and χ2 to compare categorical variables. Results: Overall, 195 patients completed the questionnaire. The median age was 58 years (range: 23 to 89) and of those 102 patients (59%) were males. Time from diagnosis ranged between less than a year and 46 years (median: 7 years). In the primary analysis we included 139 patients (71%) who received either imatinib (n = 70, 36%), dastainib (n = 45, 23%) or nilotinib (n = 24, 12%). We did not include the few patients who received bosutinib (n = 8, 4%), ponatinib (n = 2, 1%) or patients who discontinued treatment (n = 22, 11%). Patients on imatinib were older (median age 67 years, range : 32 to 89) compared with patients on either nilotinib (median age 50 years, range 26 to 85 ) or dasatinib (median age 47 years, range: 26 to 85) (P

Description: Background: Hydroxyurea (HU) is an effective and common therapy for high-risk Polycythemia Vera (PV). Some patients may demonstrate resistance or intolerance to HU, but the consequences of these warrant further studies. Objective: Evaluate the clinical and economic implications of HU resistance/intolerance, in routine clinical practice in Israel. Methods: A retrospective analysis of Maccabi Health Services' (MHS) database was performed. MHS is a Non-for-Profit healthcare insurer and provider in Israel, with over 2.2 million members. Patients were included in the study if they had a recorded PV diagnosis or complete blood count indicative of PV, and had purchased HU for at least 3 months between 2000-2015. Enrolled patients were divided into 3 groups: A) Resistant to HU (patients prescribed 2g/day of HU); B) Intolerant of HU (patients who stopped HU, transitioned to another line of therapy or who developed HU related cytopenias); C) Stable on HU. A mid-time point was added to "Stable" to compensate for the time required for transition in the "Intolerant" group. Only patients who developed Intolerance within 5 years were included. Collected data pertained to demographics, clinical outcomes, resource utilization and expenditure data. Results: A total of 830 patients were identified. Only 3 met criteria for Resistance and were disregarded for further analysis, while 318 (38%) were defined as "Intolerant" and 509 (61%) as "Stable". At baseline, there were no significant differences between "Intolerant" and "Stable" groups, apart from platelet counts (431 vs. 495, respectively) and red cell distribution width (RDW) (18.4 vs. 17.6, respectively). Intolerance was determined based on HU-related cytopenias (n=144, 45% of Intolerant), transition to other treatment line (n=52, 16%) or stopping HU (n=122, 38%). These results indicate some patients continue HU treatment despite lack of disease control. "Intolerant" patients who had transitioned by 5 years from first HU purchase (N=173) and "Stable" patients who met the mid-point of time to transition (N=487) were eligible for comparison. Median follow up time was 4.9 and 5.5 years for "Intolerant" and "Stable" groups, respectively. Thrombotic events occurred in 8% of the "Intolerant" group compared with 3% of "Stable" (p=0.003) and event rate per 100 patient-years was 1.6 versus 0.5 (p