Loss in Overall and Quality‐Adjusted Life Expectancy for Patients With Chronic‐Phase Chronic Myeloid Leukemia

Abstract

The introduction of tyrosine kinase inhibitors has considerably improved the life expectancy (LE) for patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). Evaluating health-related quality of life within the treatment pathway remains crucial. Using the Swedish CML register, we included 991 adult patients with chronic-phase (CP) CML diagnosed 2007 to 2017, with follow-up until 2018. We developed a multistate model to estimate the loss in LE (LLE) and loss in quality-adjusted life expectancy (LQALE) for the patient population compared to the general population, along with the respective proportions of losses relative to the general population. All patients with CP-CML had a relatively low reduced LE but with larger LQALE. The maximum LLE within age/sex subgroups was 5.7 years (general population LE: 43.2 years vs. CP-CML LE: 37.5 years) for females diagnosed at age 45 years, with LQALE of 12.0 quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) (general population QALE: 38.2 QALYs vs. CP-CML QALE: 26.3 QALYs). Across all ages, the proportions of LLE ranged from 9% to 15%, and the proportions of LQALE were 29% to 33%. Despite a low LLE, our findings reveal a greater LQALE for patients with CP-CML. Further improvements in management of CP-CML are thus warranted to successfully address the prevailing medical needs.