[Translated article] Cost of Treating Cutaneous T-Cell Lymphoma in Spain: Analysis of MICADOS Study Data by Disease Stage.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The cost of treating cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) in Spain is unknown. With the advent of new treatments, it is more important than ever to gain an accurate picture of the true costs involved. The MICADOS study had 2 primary objectives: 1)to evaluate the impact of CTCL on patient quality of life, and 2)to evaluate the costs associated with the disease. This article reports the results of the cost analysis. METHODS: We estimated the cost of treating CTCL over a period of 1year from the perspective of the Spanish National Health System. Twenty-three dermatologists and hematologists from 15 public hospitals analyzed data for adult patients with mycosis fungoides (MF) or Sézary syndrome (SS). RESULTS: A total of 141 patients (57.4% male) with a mean age of 63.6 years (95%CI: 61.4-65.7 years) were included. The mean direct annual cost of treating CTCL was €34,214 per patient. The corresponding costs by stage were €11,952.47 for stageI disease, €23,506.21 for stageII disease, €38,771.81 for stageIII disease, and €72,748.84 for stageIV disease. The total direct annual cost of treating MF/SS in public hospitals in Spain was estimated at €78,301,171; stageI disease accounted for 81% of all costs, stageII for 7%, and stagesIII andIV for 6% each. CONCLUSIONS: The MICADOS study offers an accurate picture of the direct cost of treating CTCL in patients with MF/SS in Spain and shows that costs vary significantly according to disease stage. Patient-borne and indirect costs should be analyzed in future studies.

Cost of Treating Cutaneous T-Cell Lymphoma in Spain: Analysis of MICADOS Study Data by Disease Stage. / Evaluación de los costes asociados a la enfermedad de pacientes con linfoma cutáneo de células T en España: análisis en función del estadio clínico (estudio MICADOS).

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The cost of treating cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) in Spain is unknown. With the advent of new treatments, it is more important than ever to gain an accurate picture of the true costs involved. The MICADOS study had 2 primary objectives: 1)to evaluate the impact of CTCL on patient quality of life, and 2)to evaluate the costs associated with the disease. This article reports the results of the cost analysis. METHODS: We estimated the cost of treating CTCL over a period of 1year from the perspective of the Spanish National Health System. Twenty-three dermatologists and hematologists from 15 public hospitals analyzed data for adult patients with mycosis fungoides (MF) or Sézary syndrome (SS). RESULTS: A total of 141 patients (57.4% male) with a mean age of 63.6 years (95%CI: 61.4-65.7 years) were included. The mean direct annual cost of treating CTCL was €34,214 per patient. The corresponding costs by stage were €11,952.47 for stageI disease, €23,506.21 for stageII disease, €38,771.81 for stageIII disease, and €72,748.84 for stageIV disease. The total direct annual cost of treating MF/SS in public hospitals in Spain was estimated at €78,301,171; stageI disease accounted for 81% of all costs, stageII for 7%, and stagesIII andIV for 6% each. CONCLUSIONS: The MICADOS study offers an accurate picture of the direct cost of treating CTCL in patients with MF/SS in Spain and shows that costs vary significantly according to disease stage. Patient-borne and indirect costs should be analyzed in future studies.

High rate of long-term survival for high-risk lymphoma patients treated with hematopoietic stem cell transplantation as consolidation or salvage therapy.

Patients with high-relapse-risk lymphomas or those relapsing after initial therapy have a limited probability of cure with conventional treatment. There is recent inconclusive evidence that, in such cases, intensification or salvage treatment with high-dose chemotherapy followed by hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) increases the response rate and may improve survival. Nevertheless, published data on long-term follow-up of high-risk lymphoma patients treated with HSCT are scarce. We analyzed 101 consecutive patients receiving high-dose chemotherapy followed by HSCT after induction with standard chemotherapy. The median age was 38 years (range, 12-63 years). The diagnoses were Hodgkin's disease (n = 32), follicular lymphoma (n = 33), diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (n = 12), mantle cell lymphoma (n = 7), T-cell lymphoma (n = 14), and others (n = 3). Patients received either an autologous graft (n = 72) in first complete remission (1CR; n = 23) or in advanced stages (AS; n = 49), or an allogeneic graft (n = 29) in 1CR (n = 7) or in AS (n = 22). We concluded that transplant-related mortality was 2.7% for patients receiving an autologous HSCT and 27% for patients receiving an allogeneic HSCT. The main etiologies were graft-versus-host disease and infection in the allogeneic setting, and infection in the autologous setting. The probability of long-term (12-year) overall survival was 71%, higher than that described for high-relapse-risk lymphoma patients treated without HSCT and significantly better (P < .05) for patients who received the transplant in 1CR (89%) than in AS (65%). Finally, the probability of long-term survival was significantly better for patients treated with HSCT during the period from 2000-2007 (85%) compared with the period from 1989-1999 (72%).

Influence of treatment and immunological recovery on tuberculosis relapses in HIV-infected patients.

SETTING: Studies on tuberculosis (TB) relapse in HIV-infected patients show contradictory results regarding the optimal duration of treatment. OBJECTIVE: To assess the incidence of TB relapse and associated factors in HIV-infected patients receiving a 9-month tuberculostatic regimen and concomitant HAART. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Observational prospective study recording 156 episodes of TB in 137 patients, most of whom were on a 9-month regimen of daily isoniazid and rifampicin-based TB treatment. The primary outcome measure was relapse after completion of therapy. RESULTS: Forty episodes were excluded due to death or loss to follow-up. The median follow-up was 24 months. Twenty-seven episodes of TB relapse were observed in 22 patients, yielding a relapse rate of 1.9/100 patient-years in those on a regimen of > or = 9 months. A high recurrence rate was observed in those who had prematurely suspended treatment. Treatment duration > or = 9 months and achieving both an undetectable viral load and increasing CD4-cell counts with HAART were associated with the absence of TB relapses. CONCLUSIONS: Considering its safety and tolerance, our results suggest that a 9-month regimen would be recommendable in patients with severe immunosuppression until the optimal duration of TB treatment in HIV-infected patients has been defined in a randomised clinical trial including HAART.

Hemopoietic stem cell transplantation in childhood: reduction in mortality and improvement of survival over the years.

Stem cell transplantation (SCT) is an effective treatment for life-threatening hematologic and nonhematologic pediatric diseases. Reducing transplant-related mortality (TRM), a major complication of SCT, to improve long-term survival, therefore, is one of the main objectives of transplantation teams. We analyzed TRM and overall survival (OS) over the years in children undergoing SCT in our center. From June 1998 to October 2002, 156 consecutive children, 105 boys and 51 girls, median age 10 years (range, 2-18), with different diagnoses underwent SCT (100 autologous and 56 allogeneic). OS and TRM were analyzed in 2 different periods (June 1989-December 1998 and January 1999-October 2002) and grouped according to the different SCT modalities. The median follow-up was 18 months (range, 1-160). Autologous TRM showed a statistically significant improvement within 1999-2002 (0%) compared with 1989-1998 (12.2%) (P < .05). There were no statistical differences for allogeneic SCT. OS was 34% in the first period and 80.4% in the second period (P < .01), the improvement being for both autologous and allogeneic SCT. In our study, TRM decreased significantly for those children receiving autologous SCT in recent years. OS was significantly better in the latter period (1999-2002), both globally and for each SCT modality.

Hemopoietic stem cell transplantation in refractory rheumatoid arthritis is not a contraindication for reconstructive surgery.

Hemopoietic stem cell transplantation (HCST) is an experimental therapy that may produce prolonged remissions in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) resistant to other treatments. Prosthetic articular replacement is often required in severe long-lasting disease. There is a well-founded concern regarding the feasibility and safety of reconstructive surgery after HSCT and as yet no published data on the subject. We report a patient with RA of 9 years' duration resistant to conventional treatments plus femoral head necrosis, who underwent prosthetic hip replacement with no post-surgical complications one year after HSCT, with a sustained response.