Real-World Look From Japan at CLL Management
Posted: Thursday, August 19, 2021
An observational database research study known as CLIMBER-DBR, performed by Junji Suzumiya, MD, PhD, of the Innovative Cancer Center, Shimane University Hospital, Izumo, Japan, and colleagues, retrospectively reviewed the data and treatment regimens of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) in Japan. Published in the Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hematopathology, this study offers a further understanding of the treatment status and characteristics of patients with CLL, although more evidence is required to develop new treatment options.
The Medical Data Vision Co. Database was used to identify adults with CLL who were first diagnosed during the study period (cohort CLL-1, n = 2,562) or who received treatment during the study period (cohort CLL-2, n = 930). Data such as age, body weight, sex, and modified Charlson Comorbidity Index were obtained at baseline, along with diagnosis, medications, emergency hospitalization, medical procedures, and in-hospital deaths.
The median follow-up for the CLL-1 cohort was 721 days, and the average modified Charlson Comorbidity Index was 2.2. In the CLL-2 cohort, the median follow-up was 727.5 days, and the average modified Charlson Comorbidity Index was 1.3. A total of 916 patients in the CLL-2 cohort overlapped with the CLL-1 cohort. The median times to first-line and second/third-line treatment for the CLL-1 and CLL-2 cohorts were 1,331 and 1,066 days, respectively.
The most common first-line treatments were fludarabine alone (17.7%), cyclophosphamide alone (13.7%), and bendamustine plus rituximab (8.2%; ibrutinib was administered most often as a second- (10.5%) or third-line (13.8%) treatment. The majority (84.7%) of patients in CLL-2 were prescribed systemic antibacterial drugs, and slightly more than half (56.8%) were administered intravenous antibiotics. The administration of antithrombotic drugs (58.3%), transfusion (40.2%), and systemic antifungal drugs (40.2%) were the most common clinical events. Of note, 50.3% of patients in CLL-1 and 66.5% of those in CLL-2 were hospitalized at least once, with 19.4% of all patients admitted to the emergency room.
Disclosure: For full disclosures of the study authors, visit jstage.jst.go.jp.
