Developing a National Study That Integrates the Geriatric Assessment into the Care of Older Patients with Myeloid Malignancies.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: To highlight the priorities in geriatric assessment research in myeloid malignancies and discuss design considerations necessary to ensure research is patient-centric, generalizeable, and high quality. RECENT FINDINGS: Older adults with myeloid malignancies including those who are perceived to have excellent performance status have multiple functional impairments. These impairments are associated with early mortality. Older adults have different functional trajectories through the course of treatment; this will be further investigated in our ongoing multicenter study. In a single-center study, we have demonstrated the use of geriatric assessment to guide treatment is feasible. Key priorities include designing a multicenter validation study to confirm the role of geriatric assessment in determining treatment tolerance and survival. Such a study should include core geriatric assessment measures and should enroll diverse patient population across various practices. Conducting such a study is necessary to advance patient care and trial design, and to open venues to conduct studies to confirm the role of geriatric assessment in treatment selection.

A Multicenter Phase II Trial of Ruxolitinib for Treatment of Corticosteroid Refractory Sclerotic Chronic Graft-Versus-Host Disease.

PURPOSE: Sclerotic chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) represents a highly morbid and refractory form of cGVHD, and novel therapies for sclerotic cGVHD are critically needed. This study aimed to determine the efficacy of ruxolitinib in patients with corticosteroid refractory sclerotic cGVHD. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In a single-arm multicenter phase II trial (N = 47), adults with sclerotic cGVHD refractory to corticosteroids and ≥one additional line of systemic therapy for cGVHD received ruxolitinib for ≥six months (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03616184). The primary end point was complete or partial response (PR) in skin and/or joint defined according to the 2014 National Institute of Health cGVHD Consensus Criteria. RESULTS: Following the use of ruxolitinib for a median of 11 months, PR in skin and/or joints was noted in 49% (95% CI, 34 to 64) at 6 months, with 45% having joint and fascia response and 19% having skin response. The duration of skin/joint response was 77% (95% CI, 48 to 91) at 12 months. Overall cGVHD PR was noted in 47% (95% CI, 32 to 61). Improvement in Lee Symptom Scale summary and skin subscale scores was noted in 38% of patients. With a cumulative incidence of treatment failure of 20.8% (95% CI, 10.0 to 34.1), nonrelapse mortality (NRM) of 2.2% (95% CI, 0.17 to 10.3), and no recurrent malignancy, failure-free survival (FFS) was 77.1% (95% CI, 61.3 to 87.0) at 12 months. Ruxolitinib was overall well tolerated with no new safety signals. CONCLUSION: The use of ruxolitinib was associated with relatively high rates of skin/joint responses and overall cGVHD responses, improvement in patient-reported outcomes, low NRM, and high FFS in patients with refractory sclerotic cGVHD. Ruxolitinib offers an effective treatment option for refractory sclerotic cGVHD.

Donor types and outcomes of transplantation in myelofibrosis: a CIBMTR study.

ABSTRACT: We evaluate the impact of donor types on outcomes of hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) in myelofibrosis, using the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research registry data for HCTs done between 2013 and 2019. In all 1597 patients, the use of haploidentical donors increased from 3% in 2013 to 19% in 2019. In study-eligible 1032 patients who received peripheral blood grafts for chronic-phase myelofibrosis, 38% of recipients of haploidentical HCT were non-White/Caucasian. Matched sibling donor (MSD)-HCTs were associated with superior overall survival (OS) in the first 3 months (haploidentical hazard ratio [HR], 5.80 [95% confidence interval (CI), 2.52-13.35]; matched unrelated (MUD) HR, 4.50 [95% CI, 2.24-9.03]; mismatched unrelated HR, 5.13 [95% CI, 1.44-18.31]; P < .001). This difference in OS aligns with lower graft failure with MSD (haploidentical HR, 6.11 [95% CI, 2.98-12.54]; matched unrelated HR, 2.33 [95% CI, 1.20-4.51]; mismatched unrelated HR, 1.82 [95% CI, 0.58-5.72]). There was no significant difference in OS among haploidentical, MUD, and mismatched unrelated donor HCTs in the first 3 months. Donor type was not associated with differences in OS beyond 3 months after HCT, relapse, disease-free survival, or OS among patients who underwent HCT within 24 months of diagnosis. Patients who experienced graft failure had more advanced disease and commonly used nonmyeloablative conditioning. Although MSD-HCTs were superior, there is no significant difference in HCT outcomes from haploidentical and MUDs. These results establish haploidentical HCT with posttransplantation cyclophosphamide as a viable option in myelofibrosis, especially for ethnic minorities underrepresented in the donor registries.

A real-world study of the quality of Outpatient Pain Management in patients with Cancer.

PURPOSE: Up to 40% patients with cancer reporting pain may not receive optimal analgesia indicating inadequate treatment of pain. We examined the patterns of outpatient pain management in patients with cancer who reported pain. METHODS: We used the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey data for outpatient visits from 2006 to 2018 for patients with any cancer and reporting pain. The primary outcome was prescription of pain medications among these patients. We performed multinomial logistic regression to identify factors associated with analgesic prescriptions among patients with cancer who reported pain. RESULTS: We captured an estimated total of 412 million outpatient visits of which 22 million visits dealt with patients with cancer reporting pain. An estimated total of 13.8 million (61.33%) patient visits had pain reported but were not prescribed any pain medications. 5.5 million (24.44%) patient visits had non-opioid analgesic prescription while opioid analgesics were prescribed during 3.2 million (14.22%) visits. Patients who were black, aged 45-64 years, residing in rural geographical areas, visiting medical subspecialty practices, and having cancers of the respiratory and digestive systems had higher odds of receiving opioid prescription. CONCLUSIONS: As one of the largest pain management studies among patients with cancer in the outpatient setting, covering 412 million patient visits, our study shows that a significant proportion of patients with cancer who reported pain did not receive a prescription for analgesics suggesting a possibility of undertreatment of pain. IMPLICATIONS FOR CANCER SURVIVORS: Undertreatment of pain continues to remain a major unmet need in patients with cancer.

Racial, Ethnic and Socioeconomic Diversity and Outcomes of Patients with Graft-versus-Host Disease: A CIBMTR Analysis.

Socioeconomic status (SES) and race/ethnicity have been associated with outcomes of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT). Certain aspects of GVHD management such as the need for long term care, prolonged immunosuppressive treatment, and need for close follow up for complications may exacerbate disparities. Adults (≥ 18 years) reported to the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research (CIBMTR) who underwent a first alloHCT for acute leukemia, myelodysplastic syndrome, or myeloproliferative neoplasm between 2008 - 2018 were included. Endpoints for those developing GVHD included overall survival (OS), transplant related mortality (TRM), and disease relapse. Models were adjusted for patient and transplant related variables. A two-sided p-value < 0.01 was considered significant. Among the 14,825 allo-HCT recipients, 6,259 (42.2%) and 6,675 (45.0%) patients developed aGVHD and cGVHD, respectively. In patients with aGVHD, non-Hispanic Blacks had increased TRM (HR 1.50, 95% CI 1.24-1.83, p=0.0001) and overall mortality (HR 1.31, 1.14-1.50, p=0.0002) compared with non-Hispanic Whites, an association that disappeared when severity of aGVHD was included in the model. Lower SES was associated with increased risk of disease relapse (p=0.0016) but not OS or TRM. In patients who developed cGVHD, race and ethnicity were not associated with OS, TRM and disease relapse. However, the highest quartile of annual household income (≥ $80,000) had improved OS (HR 0.77, 0.69-0.85, p<0.0001) and reduced TRM (HR 0.86, 0.67-0.87, p<0.0001) compared with lowest quartile, adjusting for race and ethnicity. Race/ethnicity and SES are associated with outcomes after GVHD. Optimizing health care resources available to low SES patients and strategies to minimize the risk of severe GVHD in non-Hispanic Blacks may improve long-term outcomes.

Harmonizing definitions for hematopoietic recovery, graft rejection, graft failure, poor graft function, and donor chimerism in allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation: a report on behalf of the EBMT, ASTCT, CIBMTR, and APBMT.

Despite emergence of novel therapies to treat hematologic malignancies, allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT) remains an essential treatment modality capable of curing these diseases. Allo-HCT has been also shown to be curative in benign hematologic disorders such as aplastic anemia, sickle cell disease, and thalassemia, among others. Recently, the American Society for Transplantation and Cellular Therapy (ASTCT) published standardized definitions for hematopoietic recovery, graft rejection, graft failure, poor graft function, and donor chimerism. To attempt broader international consensus, a panel of adult and pediatric physician transplant experts was assembled from European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT), ASTCT, the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research (CIBMTR), and Asia-Pacific Blood and Marrow Transplantation (APBMT). Consensus was defined as ≥70% of voting members strongly agreeing or somewhat agreeing with a definition. With few exceptions, there was a consensus to endorse the prior ASTCT definitions. Importantly, we revised existing EBMT and CIBMTR data collection forms to align with these harmonized definitions that will facilitate research and international collaboration among transplant researchers and across transplant registries.

Diet and Nutritional Supplementation in Patients With Cancer: Is More Necessarily Better?

This editorial and the accompanying article summarize evidence-based guidelines that can inform dietary recommendations in oncology practices.

Preconditioning Frailty Phenotype Influences Survival and Relapse for Older Allogeneic Transplantation Recipients.

Hematologic malignancies disproportionately affect older adults. Hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) is potentially curative, but poor overall survival (OS) has limited its use in older adults. Fried's frailty phenotype (FFP) is a geriatric assessment tool that combines objective and subjective performance measures: gait speed, grip strength, activity level, exhaustion, and weight loss. People meeting ≥3 criteria are classified as frail; 1 or 2 criteria, as pre-frail; and 0 criteria, as fit. To evaluate the association of pre-HCT FFP with post-HCT outcomes, we assessed FFP prior to conditioning for 280 HCT recipients age ≥60 years with acute leukemia or a myeloid neoplasm at 3 institutions. When analyzing survival by age group, patients age ≥70 years had inferior OS compared to patients age 60 to 69 years (P = .002), with corresponding OS estimates of 38.9% (95% confidence interval [CI], 27.8% to 49.9%) and 59.3% (95% CI, 51.9% to 65.9%). Nonrelapse mortality (NRM) also was significantly higher in the older patients (P = .0005); the 2-year cumulative incidences of NRM were 38.5% (95% CI, 27.5% to 49.2%) and 17.2% (95% CI, 12.3% to 22.8%), for older and younger recipients, respectively. The cumulative incidences of relapse did not differ by age group (P = .3435). Roughly one-third (35.5%) of the patients were fit, 57.5% were pre-frail, and 7.5% were frail, with corresponding 2-year OS estimates of 68.4% (95% CI, 57.9% to 76.8%), 45.5% (95% CI, 37.4% to 53.2%), and 45.8% (95% CI, 23.4% to 65.8%) (P = .013). FFP was not significantly associated with NRM, but being frail or pre-frail was associated with a higher rate of disease-related deaths (33.3% and 27.3%, respectively, compared with 17.4% for fit patients; P = .043). In univariate modeling of restricted mean survival time with a 3-year horizon (RMST_3y), the factors that were significantly associated were FFP, age, Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS), Disease Risk Index (DRI), and HCT-specific Comorbidity Index (HCT-CI). Of those factors, only FFP (P = .006), age (P = .006), KPS (P = .004), and DRI (P = .005) were significantly associated in multivariate modeling of RMST_3y. Estimates of RMST_3y were computed and 5 risk-groups were created with survival ranging from 31.4 months for those who were age 60 to 69 years, fit, had KPS 90 to 100, and low/intermediate-risk DRI compared to 10.5 months for those who had high-risk features for all the evaluated factors. In univariate and multivariate analyses for restricted mean time to relapse with a 3-year horizon (RMRT_3y), FFP (pre-frail versus fit, P = .007; frail versus fit, P = .061) and DRI (P = .001) were the only significant factors. Predicted RMRT_3y was longest (30.6 months) for those who were fit and had low/intermediate-risk DRI scores and shortest (19.1 months) for those who were frail and had high-risk or very high-risk DRI scores. Both age and FFP impact survival after HCT. Incorporation of FFP into pre-HCT evaluations may improve decision-making and counseling regarding HCT risk for older adults. Our findings support future trials designed to reverse frailty, such as pre-HCT supervised exercise programs, and correlative analyses to unravel the connection of frailty and relapse to generate future targets for intervention. Finally, exploration of novel HCT platforms to reduce relapse in pre-frail and frail patients, as well as reduce NRM in adults age >70 years, are warranted.

Severity of Chronic Graft-versus-Host Disease and Late Effects Following Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation for Adults with Hematologic Malignancy.

The study aimed to determine the association of chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) diagnosis and severity with the development of subsequent neoplasms (SN) and nonmalignant late effects (NM-LE) in 2-year disease-free adult survivors following hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) for a hematologic malignancy. To do so, we conducted a retrospective analysis of 3884 survivors of HCT for hematologic malignancy in the Center of International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research database. We conducted a landmark analysis at the 2-year post-transplantation date, comparing first SN and NM-LE in survivors with and without cGVHD. The cumulative incidence (CuI) of SN and NM-LE were estimated through 10 years post-HCT in both groups, with death or disease relapse as a competing risk. Cox proportional hazards models were used to evaluate the associations of cGVHD and its related characteristics with the development of SN and NM-LE. The estimated 10-year CuI of SN in patients with GVHD (n = 2669) and patients without cGVHD (n = 1215) was 15% (95% confidence interval [CI], 14% to 17%) versus 9% (7.2% to 11%) (P < .001). cGVHD by 2 years post-HCT was independently associated with SN (hazard ratio [HR], 1.94; 95% CI, 1.53 to 2.46; P < .0001) with a standardized incidence ratio of 3.2 (95% CI, 2.9 to 3.5; P < .0001). Increasing severity of cGVHD was associated with an increased risk of SN. The estimated 10-year CuI of first NM-LE in patients with and without cGVHD was 28 (95% CI, 26% to 30%) versus 13% (95% CI, 11% to 15%) (P < .001). cGVHD by 2 years post-HCT was independently associated with NM-LE (HR, 2.23; 95% CI, 1.81 to 2.76; P < .0001). Multivariate analysis of cGVHD-related factors showed that increasing severity of cGVHD, extensive grade, having both mucocutaneous and visceral involvement, and receiving cGVHD treatment for >12 months were associated with the greatest magnitude of risk for NM-LE. cGVHD was closely associated with both SN and NM-LE in adult survivors of HCT for hematologic malignancy. Patients identified as having more severe involvement and both mucocutaneous and visceral organ involvement may warrant enhanced monitoring and screening for SNs and NM-LEs. However, caution is warranted when interpreting these results, as patients with cGVHD may have more vigilant post-transplantation health care and surveillance for late effects.

Longitudinal changes in cognitive and physical function and health-related quality of life in older adults with acute myeloid leukemia.

INTRODUCTION: Many older adults with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) do not receive chemotherapy because of physicians' and patients' concern for toxicities and functional decline. This highlights the critical and urgent need to generate knowledge of functional changes following new treatments. MATERIALS AND METHODS: As a part of a pragmatic single-center trial, 59 older adults ≥60 years with AML completed geriatric assessment and health-related quality of life measures before treatment and at one month and three months after chemotherapy initiation. Changes in scores of various geriatric assessment measures were computed by subtracting the baseline score from the one-month and three-month scores for each patient. Established cut-offs were used to determine a clinically meaningful change (improvement or worsening). This study provides results of descriptive exploratory analyses. RESULTS: Patients experienced significant comorbidity burden and a high prevalence of functional impairments before treatment, with 56% of patients having ≥2 comorbid conditions, 69% having abnormal cognitive function (using Montreal Cognitive Assessment), 69% having impaired objective physical function (using Short Physical Performance Battery), and 64% having a positive depression screen (Patient Health Questionnaire-9). Patients (n = 53) received treatment with predominantly low-intensity chemotherapy; six patients received intensive chemotherapy. Among those who completed some or all of the three-month evaluation (N = 43), from baseline before treatment to three months later, cognitive function improved (38.7%) or remained stable (38.7%), objective physical function improved (51.6%) or remained stable (22.6%), and depression scores improved (9.4%) or remained stable (53.1%). Global health status score and role functioning moderately improved by a score of >16. DISCUSSION: An exploratory analysis of our phase 2 trial demonstrated improvement or stabilization of cognitive and physical function and depression score at three months in a high proportion of older survivors of AML, despite a high prevalence of frailty and significant comorbidity burden at baseline. These results demonstrate success of treatment in improving cognitive and physical function and depression score, and, if confirmed in larger studies, should encourage oncologists to offer chemotherapy to older adults with AML. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: The study is registered in the ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT03226418.

Determining treatment tolerance and fitness for intensive chemotherapy in older adults with AML: a call to action.

ABSTRACT: Determining fitness for intensive chemotherapy in an older adult with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is an unanswered age-old question. Geriatric assessment captures any variation in multidimensional health, which can influence treatment tolerance. A prospective study is necessary to validate fitness criteria, determine whether geriatric assessment-based fitness performs superiorly to other criteria, and what components of geriatric assessment are associated with treatment tolerance. A validation study should enroll diverse patients from both academic and community centers and patients receiving intensive and lower-intensity chemotherapy. Geriatric assessment should include at minimum measures of comorbidity burden, cognition, physical function, and emotional health, which in previous smaller studies have shown to be associated with mortality in AML. These assessments should be completed before or within a few days of initiation of chemotherapy to reduce the influence of chemotherapy on the assessment results. Treatment tolerance has been measured by rates of toxicities in patients with solid malignancies; however, during the initial treatment of AML, rates of toxicities are very high regardless of treatment intensity. Early mortality, frequently used in previous studies, can provide a highly consequential and easily identifiable measure of treatment tolerance. The key end point to assess treatment tolerance, thus, should include early mortality. Other end points may include decline in function and quality of life and treatment modifications or cessation due to toxicities. Validating fitness criteria can guide treatment selection and supportive care interventions and are crucial to guide fitness-based trial eligibility, inform the interpretation of trial results, and facilitate drug labeling.

Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation for blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm: a CIBMTR analysis.

Blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm (BPDCN) is a rare hematological malignancy with a poor prognosis and considered incurable with conventional chemotherapy. Small observational studies reported allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT) offers durable remissions in patients with BPDCN. We report an analysis of patients with BPDCN who received an allo-HCT, using data reported to the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research (CIBMTR). We identified 164 patients with BPDCN from 78 centers who underwent allo-HCT between 2007 and 2018. The 5-year overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), relapse, and nonrelapse mortality (NRM) rates were 51.2% (95% confidence interval [CI], 42.5-59.8), 44.4% (95% CI, 36.2-52.8), 32.2% (95% CI, 24.7-40.3), and 23.3% (95% CI, 16.9-30.4), respectively. Disease relapse was the most common cause of death. On multivariate analyses, age of ≥60 years was predictive for inferior OS (hazard ratio [HR], 2.16; 95% CI, 1.35-3.46; P = .001), and higher NRM (HR, 2.19; 95% CI, 1.13-4.22; P = .02). Remission status at time of allo-HCT (CR2/primary induction failure/relapse vs CR1) was predictive of inferior OS (HR, 1.87; 95% CI, 1.14-3.06; P = .01) and DFS (HR, 1.75; 95% CI, 1.11-2.76; P = .02). Use of myeloablative conditioning with total body irradiation (MAC-TBI) was predictive of improved DFS and reduced relapse risk. Allo-HCT is effective in providing durable remissions and long-term survival in BPDCN. Younger age and allo-HCT in CR1 predicted for improved survival, whereas MAC-TBI predicted for less relapse and improved DFS. Novel strategies incorporating allo-HCT are needed to further improve outcomes.

Standardising acute myeloid leukaemia classification systems: a perspective from a panel of international experts.

The existence of two acute myeloid leukaemia classification systems-one put forth by WHO and one by the International Consensus Classification in 2022-is concerning. Although both systems appropriately move towards genomic disease definitions and reduced emphasis on blast enumeration, there are consequential disagreements between the two systems on what constitutes a diagnosis of acute myeloid leukaemia. This fundamental problem threatens the ability of heath-care providers to diagnose acute myeloid leukaemia, communicate with patients and other health-care providers, and deliver appropriate and consistent management strategies for patients with the condition. Clinical trial eligibility, standardised response assessments, and eventual drug development and regulatory pathways might also be negatively affected by the discrepancies. In this Viewpoint, we review the merits and limitations of both classification systems and illustrate how the coexistence, as well as application of both systems is an undue challenge to patients, clinicians, hematopathologists, sponsors of research, and regulators. Lastly, we emphasise the urgency and propose a roadmap, by which the two divergent classification systems can be harmonised.

Therapy-related Acute Myeloid Leukemia in Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma Survivors: Risk, Survival Outcomes and Prognostic Factor Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Therapy-related acute myeloid leukemia (tAML) is a serious complication in patients with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) exposed to chemotherapy or radiation. This extensive database study aims to quantify the risk of tAML in NHL and determine the impact of tAML on the overall survival (OS) of patients with NHL. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients diagnosed with NHL and de novo AML from 2009 to 2018 were identified from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database. Multiple primary standardized incidence ratio (SIR) sessions of the SEER*Stat software were used to calculate SIR and the absolute excess risk of tAML. Overall survival (OS) was evaluated using Kaplan-Meier curves and compared using log-rank tests. Multivariate analysis was used to study the role of each covariate on OS in patients with tAML. RESULTS: The SIR of tAML was 4.89 (95% CI 4.41-5.41), with a higher incidence of tAML observed for age <60 years, NHL prior to 2013 and within 5 years of diagnosis, and those who received chemotherapy. NHL patients with tAML had lower OS than those without tAML (5-year OS 59% vs. 13%, p < 0.001). Patients with tAML showed worse OS than de novo AML in univariate analysis (5-year OS 13% vs. 25%, p = 0.001) but not in multivariate analysis (HR 0.93, 95% CI 0.82-1.04, p = 0.21). Age ≥60 years and lack of chemotherapy were associated with poor OS in tAML subcategory. CONCLUSION: Age, time since NHL diagnosis, and receipt of chemotherapy directly influence the risk of development of tAML in NHL survivors.

Bacterial Pathogens Causing Pneumonia Post Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant: The Chronic GVHD Population.

Allogeneic stem cell transplantation is a lifesaving treatment for many malignancies. Post-transplant patients may suffer from graft versus host disease in the acute and/or the chronic form(s). Post-transplantation immune deficiency due to a variety of factors is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. Furthermore, immunosuppression can lead to alterations in host factors that predisposes these patients to infections. Although patients who receive stem cell transplant are at an increased risk of opportunistic pathogens, which include fungi and viruses, bacterial infections remain the most common cause of morbidity. Here, we review bacterial pathogens that lead to pneumonias specifically in the chronic GVHD population.

The Transplantation Ecosystem: A New Concept to Improve Access and Outcomes for Older Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation Patients.

Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) is increasingly offered to older adults with hematologic malignancies, even though nonrelapse mortality remains a major concern in older patients owing to more comorbidities and greater frailty compared with their younger counterparts. The importance of patient fitness, a well-matched donor, and disease control to the success of allogeneic HCT have been well documented; however, these factors fail to account for the impact of the complex transplantation ecosystem (TE) that older adult HCT candidates must navigate. We propose a definition of the TE modeled after the social determinants of health. Furthermore, we outline a research agenda aimed at increasing understanding of the roles of individual social determinants of transplantation health in the larger ecosystem and how they may benefit or harm older adult HCT candidates. Herein we define the TE and its individual tenets, the social determinants of transplantation health. We review the available literature while incorporating the expertise of the membership of the American Society for Transplantation and Cellular Therapy (ASTCT) Special Interest Group for Aging. The membership of the ASTCT Special Interest Group for Aging identify knowledge gaps and strategies to address them for each of the described social determinants of transplantation health. The ecosystem is an essential but underappreciated pillar for transplant access and success. We put forth this novel research agenda seeking to gain a better understanding of the complexity of HCT in older adults and develop strategies to improve access to HCT, survival, and quality of life.

Outcomes of Older Adults With AML Treated in Community Versus Academic Centers: An Analysis of Alliance Trials.

PURPOSE: Clinical trials are important for managing older patients with AML. We investigated differences in outcomes of older patients with AML on the basis of whether patients participated in intensive chemotherapy trials at community versus academic cancer centers. METHODS: We used data from the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology phase III trials that enrolled patients age ≥ 60 years with newly diagnosed AML between 1998 and 2002 in the Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB) 9720 trial and between 2004 and 2006 in the CALGB 10201 trial. Centers funded by the NCI Community Oncology Research Program were identified as community cancer centers; others were designated as academic cancer centers. Logistic regression models and Cox proportional hazards models were used to compare 1-month mortality and overall survival (OS) by center type. RESULTS: Seventeen percent of the 1,170 patients were enrolled in clinical trials in community cancer centers. The study results demonstrated comparable rates of grade ≥3 adverse events (97% v 93%), 1-month mortality (19.1% v 16.1%), and OS (43.9% v 35.7% at 1 year) between community versus academic cancer centers, respectively. After adjusting for covariates, 1-month mortality (odds ratio, 1.40; 95% CI, 0.92 to 2.12; P = .11) and OS (hazard ratio, 1.04; 95% CI, 0.88 to 1.22; P = .67) were not statistically different among patients treated in community versus academic cancer centers. CONCLUSION: An older patient population, who have complex health care needs, can be successfully treated on intensive chemotherapy trials in select community cancer centers with outcomes comparable with that achieved at academic cancer centers.