{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.057316543638732086, 'fraction_numerical': 0.03690838037342597, 'mean_word_length': 5.193548387096774, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 0, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 0, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
Quality of life and psychological distress in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

154 Background: Older patients with AML face difficult treatment decisions as they can be treated either with multi-drug ‘intensive’ chemotherapy requiring a prolonged hospitalization, or ‘non-intensive’ chemotherapy. Although clinicians often perceive intensive chemotherapy as more burdensome, studies comparing older patients’ quality of life (QOL) and psychological distress while receiving these treatments are lacking. Methods: We conducted a longitudinal study of older patients (≥ 60 years) newly diagnosed with AML receiving intensive (i.e. 7+3: cytarabine/anthracycline combination) or non-intensive (i.e., hypomethylating agents) chemotherapy at two tertiary care hospitals. We assessed patient’s QOL [Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Leukemia], and psychological distress [Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale [HADS]] at baseline and 2, 4, 8, 12, and 24 weeks after diagnosis. We compared the proportion of patients in each group reporting clinically significant depression or anxiety (HADS subscale cut off ≥ 7) and used mixed linear effects models to compare QOL and psychological distress longitudinally between groups. Results: We enrolled 75.2% (100/133) of eligible patients within 72 hours of initiating intensive (n = 50) or non-intensive (n = 50) chemotherapy. Baseline QOL, depression, or anxiety symptoms did not differ between the groups. At baseline, 33.33% (33/100) and 30% (30/100) of the overall cohort reported clinically significant depression and anxiety, respectively, with no differences between groups. At 4 weeks, 41.98% (34/81) of patients in the overall cohort reported clinically significant depression, with no differences between groups. In mixed linear effects models, there were no differences in QOL (β = -0.71, SE = 1.12, p = 0.527), depression (β = 0.24, SE = 0.20, p = 0.226), or anxiety (β = -0.16, SE = 0.19, p = 0.386) symptoms over all time points. Conclusions: Older patients with AML receiving intensive and non-intensive chemotherapy experience similar QOL and high rates of psychological distress. These findings underscore the need to develop supportive care interventions for older patients with AML, regardless of their initial treatment strategy.