Clinical outcomes and healthcare resource utilization (HCRU) in patients (pts) with lower-risk myelodysplastic syndromes (LR-MDS) reinitiating erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs) following previous ESA treatment.

Abstract

e19067 Background: The median survival for pts with LR-MDS is estimated to be 5–10 years. ESAs are utilized as first-line treatment for anemia in LR-MDS; however, real-world treatment patterns, clinical outcomes, and HCRU for pts with LR-MDS who reinitiated ESAs following previous discontinuation are not well-established. Methods: This was a retrospective study of pts with LR-MDS in a network of US community health systems who initiated ESAs as first-line therapy between January 1, 2016 and June 30, 2019 and were followed through June 30, 2021. Pts were required to have discontinued (had a ≥ 3-week gap between treatment with epoetin alfa, or a ≥ 6-week gap between treatment with darbepoetin alfa) and subsequently reinitiated ESA therapy at least once during follow-up. Outcomes included failure to achieve transfusion independence (TI), progression to acute myeloid leukemia (AML), overall survival (OS), number and type of health system visits, and medication use. TI was defined per IWG 2006 criteria in the subset of pts who had received ≥ 1 transfusion in the 8 weeks prior to ESA initiation. Results: There were 108 pts with confirmed LR-MDS who initiated ESA-based therapy. Pts had a median age of 79 years at diagnosis (interquartile range [IQR] 73–85), were predominantly male (58%), White (97%), and overweight or obese (52%). The median follow-up period was 17.0 months (IQR 7.2–34.7). The most used ESA was darbepoetin alfa (60%), followed by epoetin alfa (38%) and epoetin alfa-epbx (2%). Of the 33 pts who received a baseline transfusion, 52% did not achieve TI; 53% and 43% failed to achieve TI at 6 and 12 months, respectively. The majority of pts were repeatedly treated with ESAs (n = 61, 56%). Among these patients, 2% progressed to AML and 48% died during follow-up; median OS was 45 months. The median number of health system visits per patient-month was 3.2 (IQR 0.6–4.9); 89%, 62%, and 72% of pts had ≥ 1 outpatient, emergency department, or inpatient visit respectively, with median length of hospitalization of 12 days (IQR 4.8–27.8). Most pts (54%) received an antibiotic at least once during follow-up; overall, use of immunosuppressive therapy (2%) or iron chelation (3%) was rare. Conclusions: In this real-world study of community practice in the USA, reinitiation of ESA treatment after prior discontinuation in LR-MDS was prevalent. In these pts, poor clinical outcomes and frequent health system visits were observed. This study highlights the need to consider alternative treatment options for pts with LR-MDS.