Shifting ground and gaps in transfusion support of patients with hematological malignancies

Anemia diagnosis and therapy in malignant diseases: implementation of guidelines-a representative study

PURPOSE

Anemia in cancer should be diagnosed and treated according to guideline recommendations. The implementation of ESMO and German guidelines and their effect on anemia correction was analyzed.

METHODS

This retrospective epidemiological study, representative for Germany, analyzed data on anemia management of cancer patients with anemia ≥ grade 2. The Guideline Adherence Score (GLAD) for diagnosis (GLAD-D) and therapy (GLAD-T) was defined as follows: 2 points for complete, 1 point for partial, 0 point for no adherence.

RESULTS

Data were analyzed for 1046 patients. Hb levels at diagnosis of anemia were 8-10 g/dL in 899 (85.9%) patients, 7-8 g/dL in 92 (8.7%), and < 7 g/dL (5.0%) in 52. Transferrin saturation was determined in 19% of patients. Four hundred fifty-six patients received RBC (43.6%), 198 (18.9%) iron replacement, 106 (10.1%) ESA, and 60 (5.7%) vitamin B12 replacement. 60.6% of patients receiving iron replacement were treated intravenously and 39.4% were treated orally. Two hundred eighty-eight (36.6%) of 785 patients receiving transfusions had no guideline-directed indication. GLAD-D was 2 in 310 patients (29.6%), 1 in 168 (16.1%), and 0 in 568 (54.3%). GLAD-T was 2 in 270 patients (25.8%), 1 in 320 patients (30.6%), and 0 in 456 patients (43.6%). Higher GLAD-D significantly correlated with higher GLAD-T (τB = 0.176, p < 0.001). GLAD-T 2 was significantly associated with greater Hb increase than GLAD-T 0/1 (p < 0.001) at 28 days (10.2 vs. 9.7 g/dL) and at 2 months (10.4 vs. 9.9 g/dL).

CONCLUSIONS

Anemia assessment is inadequate, transfusion rates too high, and iron and ESA therapy too infrequent.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT05190263, date: 2022-01-13.

Safety of hypoxic red blood cell administration in patients with transfusion-dependent hematological malignancies: An interim analysis

Anemia is a common symptom of hematological malignancies and red blood cell (RBC) transfusion is the primary supportive treatment, with many patients becoming transfusion dependent. Hemanext Inc. (Lexington, MA, United States) has developed a CE mark certified device to process and store RBCs hypoxically - citrate-phosphatedextrose (CPD)/phosphate-adenine-glucose-guanosine-saline-mannitol (PAGGSM) RBCs, leukocytes-reduced (LR), O2/CO2 reduced - with the aim of improving RBC quality for transfusion. This interim analysis describes the first patients to receive hypoxic RBCs, administered as part of a pilot post-marketing study in Norway. The primary outcome was adverse events (AEs) within 24 h of transfusion initiation and overall up to 7 days ( ± 1 day) post-transfusion. Secondary outcomes included changes in hemoglobin levels post-transfusion. Five patients with hematological malignancies were included (80 % male, mean age 69.8 [SD ± 19.3] years). Prior to the study, patients had been receiving conventional RBC transfusions every two weeks. Patients received 2 units of hypoxic RBCs over 2 h without complication. One mild AE (rhinovirus) was reported two days post-treatment and was deemed unrelated to treatment. The mean ± SD pre-transfusion hemoglobin level was 7.7 ± 0.5 g/dL, evolving to 9.0 ± 0.9 g/dL following administration of hypoxic RBCs; an increase of 17 %. This interim analysis showed that transfusion with hypoxic RBCs processed with the CPD/PAGGSM LR, O2/CO2 reduced system was effective and well tolerated in patients with hematologic malignancies. The overall clinical program will assess whether the use of hypoxic RBCs can reduce transfusion interval versus conventional RBCs in patients requiring acute and chronic transfusions.

Early and sustained improvement in fatigue-related quality of life following red blood cell transfusion in outpatients

PURPOSE

Outpatients with hematologic disease often receive red cell transfusion to treat anemia and fatigue. The effect of transfusion on fatigue-related quality of life and how well this effect is sustained has not been quantified. The study aim was to describe the early and sustained impact over 4 weeks of red cells on patient-reported fatigue in outpatients age ≥ 50 receiving transfusion as routine clinical care.

METHODS

FACIT-Fatigue scale scores were measured pre-transfusion and at visits targeting 3, 7, and 28 days post-transfusion. Group-based trajectory modeling of patient fatigue scores by study day was used to identify the number of distinct trajectories (Groups), then longitudinal mixed effects modeling of fatigue scores was used to estimate group-specific mean improvements early after transfusion and between days 3 and 28 post-transfusion.

RESULTS

Four distinct fatigue score trajectory groups were identified and were found to be correlated with baseline fatigue scores (means 12, 26, 34, and 47 points). In the three groups with the lowest fatigue trajectories (indicating greater fatigue), improvements in fatigue early after transfusion achieved the established minimum clinically important difference (≥ 3 points, Group p = 0.0039). In all trajectory groups, mean fatigue levels did not change significantly between 3 and 28 days (± 1 point, Group p = 0.60).

CONCLUSION

Patient-reported fatigue varies widely among older adult outpatients with hematologic disorders. Nonetheless, trajectory modeling suggests that most anemic patients can expect a noticeable improvement in fatigue in the first few days after transfusion that generally is sustained up to 4 weeks.