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Symptom burden, quality of life, and distress in acute myeloid leukemia patients receiving induction chemotherapy: A prospective electronic patient-reported outcomes study.

167 Background: Induction chemotherapy for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is more intensive than many solid tumor treatments, and may be associated with a different symptom burden. Little is known about the most prevalent symptoms during AML induction, nor how they change over time.


METHODS
We enrolled AML inpatients at initiation of induction chemotherapy, and assessed their symptoms, quality of life (QoL), and distress weekly during their month-long hospitalization for treatment, using 3 validated instruments: Patient Care Monitor v2.0 (PCM); Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Leukemia (FACT-Leu); and NCCN distress thermometer (DT). Here we report results from the first 16 enrolled patients, using standard descriptive statistics.


RESULTS
Mean age of study participants was 59.6 (SD 12.2), and most were newly diagnosed with AML (SD 87.5%, n=14). Patients were mostly high-risk for recurrence, with 50% (8) being >60 years old and 71% (10) having high-risk cytogenetics. Fatigue was the most prevalent symptom, with an average of 59% of patients reporting moderate to severe fatigue at each assessment. The other most prevalent moderate/severe non-functional symptoms were dysgeusia (50%), dry mouth (42%), diarrhea (41%), decreased appetite (37.5%), insomnia (37.5%), daytime sleepiness (36%), nausea (36%), hair loss (36%), and mouth sores (34%). Median QoL by FACT-Leu total score decreased substantially between weeks 1 and 2 (118.5 to 104.5); the most substantial decrements were in subscales for personal well-being and functional well-being (20.5 to 14.5, and 13.5 to 8.5, respectively). QoL did not return to baseline by week 4. Median DT score at baseline was 6.5, with a trend towards weekly improvements in distress (DT = 3 at week 4). Depressive symptoms like hopelessness and sadness were reported by an average of 25% and 31.3% of patients, respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
AML patients receiving induction chemotherapy have significant symptom burden, impaired QoL, and psychological distress. The prevalence of these issues suggests sizeable unmet palliative care and psychosocial needs in AML patients receiving induction chemotherapy.