Key clinical point: Over 13 years of observation reveals the presence of comorbidities, including a prior malignancy, in majority of patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). A combination of comorbidities was significantly associated with worse overall survival (OS).
Major finding: A comorbidity was reported in 67% of patients, of which 24.4% had a prior malignancy . Patients with Charlson Comorbidity Index score of 4 or higher vs. lower score had significantly impaired OS ( P less than .01). Both therapy-related (hazard ratio [HR], 1.51) and secondary (HR, 1.58) vs. de novo MDS were associated with worse OS ( P = .04).
Study details : Data come from an observational population-based study of 291 patients with newly diagnosed MDS.
Disclosures: No source of funding was declared. The lead author reported receiving financial support from Celgene for attending the MDS Foundation meeting in 2019. The remaining authors declared no competing financial interests.
Source: Rozema J et al. Blood Adv. 2021 Mar 3. doi: 10.1182/bloodadvances.2020003381 .