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Summary: Studies on the conditional life expectancy of patients with chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) are lacking. Using data from the Netherlands Cancer Registry, we examined the life expectancy of patients with CML in the Netherlands diagnosed during 1989–2018. As of the early 2010s, the life expectancy of patients with CML who survived several years after diagnosis came narrowly close to the general population's life expectancy, regardless of age. This finding can essentially be ascribed to the introduction and broader application of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) and provide optimism to patients with CML who can look forward to a near‐normal life expectancy in a modern TKI era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nodal marginal zone lymphoma (NMZL) is a rare type of B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma. This study assessed the clinical features of 56 patients with NMZL in comparison to 46 patients with follicular lymphoma (FL). Patients with NMZL and FL had a largely similar clinical presentation, but patients with FL had a higher disease stage at presentation, more frequent abdominal lymphadenopathy and bone marrow involvement, and showed more common transformation into diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) during the course of disease. Overall survival and event-free survival were similar for patients with NMZL and FL, but factors associated with worse prognosis differed between the two groups. Transformation into DLBCL was associated with a significantly poorer outcome in both groups, but the phenotypes were different: DLBCL arising in FL was mainly of germinal center B-cell phenotype, whereas DLBCL arising in NMZL was mainly of non-germinal center B-cell phenotype. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Suboptimal guideline adherence in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) care is associated with worse treatment outcomes. Current study focused on adherence to seven quality indicators (QIs) based on the European Leukemia Network guideline (one diagnostic, one therapeutic, and five monitoring indicators). Data were obtained from population-based registries in the Netherlands of 405 newly diagnosed chronic phase CML patients between January 2008 and April 2013. Compliance rates regarding diagnostic and therapeutic indicator were 83% and 78%, respectively. Monitoring indicators rates were lower: 21-27% for indicators concerning the first year and 58% and 62% for the second and third year, respectively. Noncompliance occurred mostly due to non-timely monitoring. Twenty cases did not comply with any indicator, 6% complied with all indicators. After adjustment for age, overall survival rates did not differ significantly between the groups. Adherence to guideline-based QIs was suboptimal. This demonstrates the evidence-practice gap, shows room for improvement and underscores the need for real-world data.

Healthcare costs are rising due to an increase in chronic diseases, including chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) due to improved survival. In CML care, patient adherence and physician adherence are key elements. We assessed the potential health gain and cost savings when both are improved, using a decision analytic model that integrated various sources of evidence. The current situation was compared to a theoretical situation in which either patient or physician adherence is improved, in terms of costs and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs). Current patient adherence rate is 74%, improvement to 100% resulted in 0.1031 QALYs gained and a saving of €17,509 per patient over a 25-year period. Improving physician adherence from 72% to 100%, resulted in 0.0380 QALYs and €7606. Enhancement of either adherence results in substantial health gain and cost savings. Regarding the rising healthcare costs, new strategies should focus on improving adherence to keep healthcare affordable in the future.