Long-Term Efficacy of High-Dose Imatinib in Hispanic Patients Without Access to Second-Generation Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors Treated in LATAM Centers.

BACKGROUND: While second-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) revolutionized treatment for patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) who developed a suboptimal response to imatinib, many patients in developing countries are fixed to the latter due to socioeconomic barriers. Despite this scenario, scarce information is available to evaluate the clinical prognosis of these patients. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort analysis to compare the overall mortality of patients with CML who developed a suboptimal response to a standard dose of imatinib and were treated with either high-dose imatinib or a second-generation TKI. We created a marginal structural model with inverse probability weighting and stabilized weights. Our primary outcome was overall survival (OS) at 150 months. Our secondary outcomes were disease-free survival (DFS) at 150 months and adverse events. RESULTS: The cohort included 148 patients, of which 32 received high-dose imatinib and 116 a second-generation TKI. No difference was found in the 150-month overall survival risk (RR: 95% CI 0.91, 0.55-1.95, P-value = .77; RD: -0.04, -0.3 to 0.21, P-value = .78) and disease-free survival (RR: 1.02, 95% CI 0.53-2.71, P-value = .96; RD: 0.01, -0.26 to 0.22, P-value = .96). There was also no difference in the incidence of adverse events in either group. CONCLUSION: Ideally, patients who develop a suboptimal response to imatinib should be switched to a second-generation TKI. If impossible, however, our findings suggest that patients treated with high-dose imatinib have a similar overall survival and disease-free survival prognosis to patients receiving a second-generation TKI.

Iron deficiency anemia referral to the hematologist. Real-world data from Mexico: the need for targeted teaching in primary care.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the referral patterns and etiology of iron deficiency anemia (IDA) at an academic hematology center in northeast Mexico. METHODS: We included all consecutive outpatients older than 16 years, non-pregnant, with IDA diagnosed in the Hematology Service of the Dr. José E. González University Hospital between January 2012 and May 2017. Appropriate data were collected retrospectively from the electronic medical record. Data regarding first medical contact (primary care physician or hematologist) were compared. RESULTS: One hundred fifty-three patients were included in this study. The median age was 43 years (interquartile range, 35-51) and 85.6% were female; 128 (83.7%) patients were seen by a primary care physician before our evaluation. Abnormal uterine bleeding (AUB) was the cause of IDA in 76 patients (49.6%), gastrointestinal bleeding (GIB) in 31 (20.2%), H. pylori infection in 12 (7.8%), urinary tract bleeding in three (1.9%) and malabsorption-syndrome in two (1.3%). The etiology remained unknown in 29 (18.9%). The p value was <0.05 between groups according to the first medical contact, including frequency of at least one sign or symptom of IDA, previous use of iron supplementation and blood transfusion, comorbidities, complete blood count at diagnosis, and resolution rates of anemia. CONCLUSION: The majority of our IDA patients were referred by another physician. Nearly half of the patients with IDA had AUB. IDA remains a diagnostic challenge for first contact physicians requiring a targeted educational intervention to improve IDA awareness and diagnostic skills.