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Summary: The treatment pattern and outcomes in patients with indolent B‐cell lymphoma treated during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic period compared to the prepandemic period are unclear. This was a retrospective population‐based study using administrative databases in Ontario, Canada (follow‐up to 31 March 2022). The primary outcome was treatment pattern; secondary outcomes were death, toxicities, healthcare utilization (emergency department [ED] visit, hospitalization) and SARS‐CoV‐2 outcomes. Adjusted hazard ratios (aHR) from Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate associations. We identified 4143 patients (1079 pandemic, 3064 prepandemic), with a median age of 69 years. In both time periods, bendamustine (B) + rituximab (BR) was the most frequently prescribed regimen. During the pandemic, fewer patients received R maintenance or completed the full 2‐year course (aHR 0.81, 95% CI 0.71–0.92, p = 0.001). Patients treated during the pandemic had less healthcare utilization (ED visit aHR 0.77, 95% CI 0.68, 0.88, p < 0.0001; hospitalization aHR 0.81, 95% CI 0.70–0.94, p = 0.0067) and complications (infection aHR 0.69, 95% CI 0.57–0.82, p < 0.0001; febrile neutropenia aHR 0.66, 95% CI 0.47–0.94, p = 0.020), with no difference in death. Independent of vaccination, active rituximab use was associated with a higher risk of COVID‐19 complications. Despite similar front‐line regimen use, healthcare utilization and admissions for infection were less in the pandemic cohort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Mental disorders have been reported in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), but studies examining their association with mortality are lacking. Methods We conducted a population-based study using linked administrative health-care databases from Ontario, Canada. All patients with DLBCL 18 years of age or older treated with rituximab-based therapy between January 1, 2005, and December 31, 2017, were identified and followed until March 1, 2020. Mental disorders were defined as either preexisting or postdiagnosis (after lymphoma treatment initiation). Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate the adjusted hazard ratio (HR) between mental disorders and 1-year and all-cause mortality while controlling for covariates. Results We identified 10 299 patients with DLBCL. The median age of the cohort was 67 years; 46% of patients were female, and 28% had a preexisting mental disorder. At 1-year follow-up, 892 (9%) had a postdiagnosis mental disorder, and a total of 2008 (20%) patients died. Preexisting mental disorders were not associated with 1-year mortality (adjusted HR = 1.06, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.96 to 1.17, P  = .25), but postdiagnosis disorders were (adjusted HR = 1.51, 95% CI = 1.26 to 1.82, P  = .0001). During a median follow-up of 5.2 years, 2111 (22%) patients had a postdiagnosis mental disorder, and 4084 (40%) patients died. Both preexisting and postdiagnosis mental disorders were associated with worse all-cause mortality (preexisting adjusted HR = 1.12, 95% CI = 1.04 to 1.20, P  = .0024; postdiagnosis adjusted HR = 1.63, 95% CI = 1.49 to 1.79, P  < .0001). Conclusions Patients with DLBCL and mental disorders had worse short-term and long-term mortality, particularly those with postdiagnosis mental disorders. Further studies are needed to examine mental health service utilization and factors mediating the relationship between mental disorders and inferior mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Bendamustine (B) with rituximab (R) has become the preferred regimen for patients with indolent lymphoma in Ontario, Canada, compared to R with cyclophosphamide, vincristine, prednisone (CVP) or cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine and prednisone (CHOP). We conducted a propensity‐matched retrospective cohort population‐based study of patients treated with R‐CVP/CHOP from 2005 to 2012 and patients treated with BR from 2013 to 2018. The primary outcome was 5‐year overall survival (OS), and secondary outcomes included toxicities and healthcare utilization. The 5‐year OS for patients treated with BR (n = 2023) and R‐CVP/CHOP (n = 2023) was 80% and 75% respectively. Treatment with BR was associated with improved OS (HR 0.79, 95% CI 0.69–0.91). During the first 9 months, patients treated with BR versus R‐CVP/CHOP had a higher number of admissions for infection (22% compared to 17%, p < 0.01) and a higher number of mean ED visits (mean 1.01 ± 1.68 visits vs. 0.85 ± 1.51 visits, p < 0.01). This trend persisted for 3 years. The adjusted 5‐year OS for patients 75 years and older did not differ based on treatment regimen (55.5% for BR vs. 55.4% for R‐CVP/CHOP). Our study supports the use of BR for patients with indolent lymphoma requiring treatment but suggests increased risk of certain toxicities warranting careful patient selection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Mental disorders have been reported in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), but studies examining their association with mortality are lacking., Methods: We conducted a population-based study using linked administrative health-care databases from Ontario, Canada. All patients with DLBCL 18 years of age or older treated with rituximab-based therapy between January 1, 2005, and December 31, 2017, were identified and followed until March 1, 2020. Mental disorders were defined as either preexisting or postdiagnosis (after lymphoma treatment initiation). Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate the adjusted hazard ratio (HR) between mental disorders and 1-year and all-cause mortality while controlling for covariates., Results: We identified 10 299 patients with DLBCL. The median age of the cohort was 67 years; 46% of patients were female, and 28% had a preexisting mental disorder. At 1-year follow-up, 892 (9%) had a postdiagnosis mental disorder, and a total of 2008 (20%) patients died. Preexisting mental disorders were not associated with 1-year mortality (adjusted HR = 1.06, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.96 to 1.17, P = .25), but postdiagnosis disorders were (adjusted HR = 1.51, 95% CI = 1.26 to 1.82, P = .0001). During a median follow-up of 5.2 years, 2111 (22%) patients had a postdiagnosis mental disorder, and 4084 (40%) patients died. Both preexisting and postdiagnosis mental disorders were associated with worse all-cause mortality (preexisting adjusted HR = 1.12, 95% CI = 1.04 to 1.20, P = .0024; postdiagnosis adjusted HR = 1.63, 95% CI = 1.49 to 1.79, P < .0001)., Conclusions: Patients with DLBCL and mental disorders had worse short-term and long-term mortality, particularly those with postdiagnosis mental disorders. Further studies are needed to examine mental health service utilization and factors mediating the relationship between mental disorders and inferior mortality., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Background: The objectives of this study were to determine whether frailty is associated with survival in a population-based sample of patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and to describe the healthcare utilization patterns of frail versus nonfrail patients during treatment., Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted using population-based data in Ontario, Canada. Patients aged ≥66 years diagnosed between 2006 and 2017 with DLBCL or transformed follicular lymphoma who received first-line curative-intent chemoimmunotherapy were included. Frailty was defined using a modified version of a generalizable frailty index developed for use with Ontario administrative data. Cox regression was performed to examine the association between frailty and 1-year mortality., Results: A total of 5,527 patients were included (median age, 75 years [interquartile range, 70-80 years]; 48% female), of whom 2,699 (49%) were classified as frail. Within 1 year of first-line treatment, 32% (n=868) of frail patients had died compared with 20% (n=553) of nonfrail patients (unadjusted hazard ratio, 1.8; 95% CI, 1.6-2.0; P<.0001). Frail patients had higher healthcare utilization during treatment, with most hospitalizations related to infection and/or lymphoma. In multivariable modeling controlling for age, inpatient diagnosis, number of chemoimmunotherapy cycles received, comorbidity burden, and healthcare utilization, frailty remained independently associated with 1-year mortality (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.5; 95% CI, 1.3-1.7; P<.0001)., Conclusions: In a population-based sample of older adult patients with DLBCL receiving front-line curative-intent therapy, half were classified as frail, and their adjusted relative rate of death in the first year after starting treatment was 50% higher than that of nonfrail patients. Frailty seems to be associated with poor treatment tolerance and a higher likelihood of requiring acute hospital-based care.