Practice patterns and real-life outcomes for patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia in the United States

Abstract

Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is associated with a favorable long-term prognosis if appropriate treatment is initiated promptly. Outcomes in clinical trials and populationbased registries vary; potential explanations include a delay in treatment and lower adherence to guideline-recommended therapy in real-world practice. We used the Vizient Clinical Data Base to describe demographic characteristics, baseline clinical characteristics, and treatment patterns in patients newly diagnosed with APL during the study period of April 2017 to March 2020. Baseline white blood cell count was used to assign risk status and assess treatment concordance with National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines. Logistic regression models examined adjusted associations between patient, hospital, disease characteristics, and adverse outcomes (in-hospital death or discharge to hospice). Among 1464 patients with APL, 205 (14.0%) experienced an adverse outcome. A substantial subset (20.6%) of patients did not receive guideline-concordant regimens. Odds of adverse outcomes increased with failure to receive guideline-concordant treatment (odds ratio [OR], 2.31; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.43-3.75; P 5 .001), high-risk disease (OR, 2.48; 95% CI, 1.53-4.00; P