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Abstract
Anemia leading to transfusion dependency (TD) and iron overload (IO) is commonly observed in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). In MDS, TD and IO have been retrospectively associated with inferior survival and worse clinical outcomes, including cardiac, hepatic and endocrine dysfunction, and, in some analyses, with leukemic progression and infectious complications. Although suggested by retrospective analyses, clear prospective documentation of the beneficial effects of iron chelation therapy (ICT) on organ function and survival in MDS patients with TD and IO is currently lacking. Consequently, the role of ICT in MDS patients with TD and IO remains a very controversial aspect in the management of MDS. In this review, the authors summarize the current knowledge regarding IO in MDS and the role of ICT.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mhairi Mitchell
- School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK
| | - Steven D Gore
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at the Johns Hopkins University, Department of Oncology, 1650 Orleans Street, CRB1 building, Room 186, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Amer M Zeidan
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at the Johns Hopkins University, Department of Oncology, 1650 Orleans Street, CRB1 building, Room 186, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
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2
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Abstract
Transfusion therapy has greatly improved the survival of transfusion dependent thalassemia major (TM) patients; however, the resultant iron load damages tissues including the heart, liver and endocrine organs. Among these, heart complication still remains the leading cause of mortality. Myocardial iron deposition can occur independently of other solid organ involvement; conversely, the heart may be spared despite heavy siderosis in other tissues. Iron chelation treatment diminishes the risk of hemosiderosis; however, the chelation treatment has its own toxicities and might not be available to all patients due to costs. Close monitoring of individual organ iron concentration and function is thus important for optimization of individual patient care. This review outlines the importance and clinical significance of recently available MRI techniques for monitoring cardiac iron load.
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Affiliation(s)
- Winnie C W Chu
- Department of Imaging & Interventional Radiology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital, Hong Kong SAR
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The clinical, quality of life, and economic consequences of chronic anemia and transfusion support in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes. Leuk Res 2012; 36:525-36. [DOI: 10.1016/j.leukres.2012.01.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2011] [Revised: 12/28/2011] [Accepted: 01/09/2012] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
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Gattermann N, Jarisch A, Schlag R, Blumenstengel K, Goebeler M, Groschek M, Losem C, Procaccianti M, Junkes A, Leismann O, Germing U. Deferasirox treatment of iron-overloaded chelation-naïve and prechelated patients with myelodysplastic syndromes in medical practice: results from the observational studies eXtend and eXjange. Eur J Haematol 2012; 88:260-8. [PMID: 22023452 PMCID: PMC3505370 DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0609.2011.01726.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/15/2011] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
EXtend and eXjange were prospective, 1-yr, non-interventional, observational, multicentre studies that investigated deferasirox, a once-daily oral iron chelator, in iron-overloaded chelation-naïve and prechelated patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), respectively, treated in the daily-routine setting of office-based physicians. No inclusion or exclusion criteria or additional monitoring procedures were applied. Deferasirox was administered as recommended in the European Summary of Product Characteristics. Haematological parameters and adverse events (AEs) were collected at two-monthly intervals. Data from 123 chelation-naïve patients with MDS (mean age 70.4 yrs) with median baseline serum ferritin level of 2679 (range 184-16,500) ng/mL, and 44 prechelated patients with MDS (mean age 69.6 yrs) with median baseline serum ferritin level of 2442 (range 521-8565) ng/mL, were assessed. The mean prescribed daily dose of deferasirox at the first visit was 15.7 and 18.7 mg/kg/d, respectively. Treatment with deferasirox produced a significant reduction in median serum ferritin levels in chelation-naïve patients with MDS from 2679 to 2000 ng/mL (P = 0.0002) and a pronounced decrease in prechelated patients with MDS from 2442 to 2077 ng/mL (P = 0.06). The most common drug-related AEs were gastrointestinal, increased serum creatinine levels and rash. These studies demonstrate that deferasirox used in physicians' medical practices is effective in managing iron burden in transfusion-dependent patients with MDS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Norbert Gattermann
- Department of Hematology, Oncology and Clinical Immunology, Heinrich-Heine-University, Düsseldorf, Germany.
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Steensma DP. ASH 2010 meeting report-Top 10 clinically-oriented abstracts in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). Am J Hematol 2011. [DOI: 10.1002/ajh.21975] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
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6
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Abstract
Accurate evaluation of iron overload is necessary to establish the diagnosis of hemochromatosis and guide chelation treatment in transfusion-dependent anemia. The liver is the primary site for iron storage in patients with hemochromatosis or transfusion-dependent anemia, therefore, liver iron concentration (LIC) accurately reflects total body iron stores. In the past 20 years, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has emerged as a promising method for measuring LIC in a variety of diseases. We review the potential role of MRI in LIC determination in the most important disorders that are characterized by iron overload, that is, thalassemia major, other hemoglobinopathies, acquired anemia, and hemochromatosis. Most studies have been performed in thalassemia major and MRI is currently a widely accepted method for guiding chelation treatment in these patients. However, the lack of correlation between liver and cardiac iron stores suggests that both organs should be evaluated with MRI, since cardiac disease is the leading cause of death in this population. It is also unclear which MRI method is the most accurate since there are no large studies that have directly compared the different available techniques. The role of MRI in the era of genetic diagnosis of hemochromatosis is also debated, whereas data on the accuracy of the method in other hematological and liver diseases are rather limited. However, MRI is a fast, non-invasive and relatively accurate diagnostic tool for assessing LIC, and its use is expected to increase as the role of iron in the pathogenesis of liver disease becomes clearer.
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Lim ZY, Fiaccadori V, Gandhi S, Hayden J, Kenyon M, Ireland R, Marsh J, Ho AYL, Mufti GJ, Pagliuca A. Impact of pre-transplant serum ferritin on outcomes of patients with myelodysplastic syndromes or secondary acute myeloid leukaemia receiving reduced intensity conditioning allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Leuk Res 2009; 34:723-7. [PMID: 19944463 DOI: 10.1016/j.leukres.2009.10.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2009] [Revised: 09/21/2009] [Accepted: 10/31/2009] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
We report on a retrospective analysis examining the influence of pre-transplant serum ferritin on transplant outcomes of 99 MDS patients receiving reduced intensity conditioning (RIC) HSCT. The median pre-transplant ferritin value was 1992 ng/ml (range: 6-9580 ng/ml). No patients received iron chelation therapy preceding transplantation. On univariate analysis, there was a strong correlation between a higher pre-transplant serum ferritin (>1500 ng/ml) and a significantly inferior 3-year OS (64.6+/-7.5% vs 39.6+/-7.3%, p=0.01). However, pre-transplant serum ferritin did not influence 3-year TRM (20.2+/-7% vs 27.4+/-7%, p=0.24). There was no difference in infection-related mortality, and incidence of acute or chronic GvHD between cohorts. On multivariate analysis, a raised serum ferritin (HR: 2.00, 95% CI: 0.97-3.57, p=0.03), and the presence of >5% bone marrow blasts at time of transplantation (HR: 2.14, 95% CI: 0.84-4.58, p=0.06) were independent predictors of an inferior overall survival. However, pre-transplant serum ferritin was not a significant predictor of disease-free survival, relapse or TRM. When compared with myeloablative regimens, RIC regimens may attenuate the impact of iron overload related end-organ toxicity. Prospective studies incorporating alternative biomarkers of iron metabolism alongside serum ferritin levels are needed to improve our understanding of the significance of iron overload in MDS patients undergoing allogeneic transplantation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Z Y Lim
- Department of Haematological Medicine, Kings College Hospital, Division of Cancer Studies, Kings College London, London, UK.
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Singer ST, Kim HY, Olivieri NF, Kwiatkowski JL, Coates TD, Carson S, Neufeld E, Cunningham MJ, Giardina PJ, Mueller BU, Quinn CT, Fung E, Vichinsky E. Hemoglobin H-constant spring in North America: an alpha thalassemia with frequent complications. Am J Hematol 2009; 84:759-61. [PMID: 19787795 PMCID: PMC4254706 DOI: 10.1002/ajh.21523] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
Hemoglobin H-constant spring (Hb H-CS), the most common nondeletional alpha thalassemia in Asia is increasingly recognized in North America due to shifts in immigration patterns. In California, alpha (α)-thalassemia syndromes are the second most frequent finding among newborns screened for hemoglobinopathies with a two-fold increase compared to a decade earlier [1 ,2 ]. Though known to have a more severe anemia than Hb H disease, the other clinical findings of Hb H-CS are not well described. Moreover, beneficial therapies that have become available in the last decade are often not applied to their care. This analysis of 46 patients enrolled in the Thalassemia Clinical Research Network (TCRN) age 13+/− 10 years old, with Hb H-CS revealed moderate anemia (mean 8.7 ± 1.5 g/dl), regular transfusion therapy in 24% of patients, and splenomegaly or prior splenectomy in one-third of them. Serum transferin receptor (sTfr), was elevated; (44.4 ± 18 mcg/ml normal range 2.9–8.3 mcg/ml), reflecting ineffective erythropoiesis, which in turn leads to high iron absorption and increased ferritin levels in younger (median = 187 ng/ml) and older (median = 465 ng/ml) nontransfused patients. These findings along with moderate growth delay and low bone mass were more prevalent in Hb H-CS patients compared to deletional Hb H disease. Our results highlight the required monitoring of the extent of anemia, growth, splenomegaly, iron overload, gallstones, bone density and assessment of need for transfusions and specific treatments for disease complications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sylvia Titi Singer
- Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Children's Hospital and Research
Center Oakland, Oakland, California
| | - Hae-Young Kim
- New England Research Institutes, Watertown, Massachusetts
| | - Nancy F. Olivieri
- Toronto General Hospital, University Health Network, Toronto,
Ontario, Canada
| | - Janet L. Kwiatkowski
- Division of Hematology, Children's Hospital Philadelphia,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104
| | - Thomas D. Coates
- Children's Center for Cancer and Blood Diseases, Children's
Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90027
| | - Susan Carson
- Children's Center for Cancer and Blood Diseases, Children's
Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90027
| | - Ellis Neufeld
- Hematology, Children's Hospital Boston, Boston,
Massachusetts
| | | | | | | | - Charles T. Quinn
- Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, UT Southwestern
Medical Center at Dallas, Dallas, Texas
| | - Ellen Fung
- Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Children's Hospital and Research
Center Oakland, Oakland, California
| | - Elliott Vichinsky
- Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Children's Hospital and Research
Center Oakland, Oakland, California
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Guo H, Au WY, Cheung JS, Kim D, Jensen JH, Khong PL, Chan Q, Chan KC, Tosti C, Tang H, Brown TR, Lam WWM, Ha SY, Brittenham GM, Wu EX. Myocardial T2 quantitation in patients with iron overload at 3 Tesla. J Magn Reson Imaging 2009; 30:394-400. [PMID: 19629983 DOI: 10.1002/jmri.21851] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE To investigate the feasibility of measuring myocardial T2 at 3 Tesla for assessment of tissue iron in thalassemia major and other iron overloaded patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS A single-breathhold electrocardiogram-triggered black-blood multi-echo spin-echo (MESE) sequence with a turbo factor of 2 was implemented at 3 Tesla (T). Myocardial and liver T2 values were measured with three repeated breathholds in 8 normal subjects and 24 patients. Their values, together with the T2 values measured using a breathhold multi-echo gradient-echo sequence, were compared with those at 1.5T in the same patients. RESULTS At 3T, myocardial T2 was found to be 39.6 +/- 7.4 ms in normal subjects. In patients, it ranged from 12.9 to 50.1 ms. "T2 and T2(*) [corrected] were observed to correlate in heart (rho = 0.93, P [corrected] < 0.0001) and liver (rho = 0.95, P < 0.0001). Myocardial T2 and T2 at 3T were also highly correlated with the 1.5T measurements. Preliminary results indicated that myocardial T2 quantitation was relatively insensitive to B1 variation, and reproducible with 3.2% intra-exam and 3.8% inter-exam variations. CONCLUSION Myocardial T2 quantitation is feasible at 3T. Given the substantially decreased T2 and increased B0 inhomogeneity, the rapid myocardial T2 measurement protocol demonstrated here may present a robust alternative to study cardiac iron overload at 3T.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hua Guo
- Laboratory of Biomedical Imaging and Signal Processing, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China
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Au WY, Lam WWM, Chu WWC, Tam S, Wong WK, Lau J, Yeung YM, Liu HSY, Liang R. Organ-specific hemosiderosis and functional correlation in Chinese patients with thalassemia intermedia and hemoglobin H disease. Ann Hematol 2009; 88:947-50. [PMID: 19165482 DOI: 10.1007/s00277-009-0701-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2008] [Accepted: 01/13/2009] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
We performed MRI assessment in 37 adult Chinese patients with thalassemia intermedia and hemoglobin H disease. Despite abnormal ferritin and liver T2*, only 5% of patients had cardiac hemosiderosis. The two patients with reduced ejection fraction had normal cardiac T2*. Half of the cases showed pituitary and pancreatic iron loading. Subclinical endocrine abnormalities (HOMA, insulin growth factor) showed correlation with pancreatic, pituitary, and cardiac MRI values. Prospective data with serial functional and imaging monitoring is needed to verify the utility for chelation to improve cardiac and endocrine function in this group of patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- W Y Au
- Department of Medicine, Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
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