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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Indian J Med Paediatr Oncol 2017; 38(02): 165-168
DOI: 10.4103/ijmpo.ijmpo_160_16
Original Article

Symptom Burden and Quality of Life Issues among Patients of Chronic Myeloid Leukemia on Long-term Imatinib Therapy

Radhika Unnikrishnan
Department of Psycho-oncology, Cancer Institute (WIA), Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
,
Surendran Veeraiah
Department of Psycho-oncology, Cancer Institute (WIA), Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
,
Prasanth Ganesan
Department of Medical Oncology, Cancer Institute (WIA), Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
› Author Affiliations Financial support and sponsorship Nil.
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Abstract

Background: Tyrosine kinase inhibitors such as imatinib have improved survival in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). Imatinib can cause chronic side effects which are not considered serious but can impact the quality of life (QoL) of the patient. Methods: The results of a detailed symptom burden analysis and its impact on QoL scores in a cohort of patients on long-term imatinib is presented in this study. Symptom burden was assessed using the M. D. Anderson Symptom Inventory specific for CML patients. An indigenously developed QoL questionnaire (Cancer Institute Quality of Life II) was administered simultaneously. Results: Of 221 patients of CML (M:F = 133:88; median age: 39 years [18–65], median duration of imatinib: 4 years), QoL scores were high in 46%, average in 39%, and low in 14%. QoL scores were negatively correlated with general symptoms (r = −0.612, P < 0.001), CML-specific symptoms (r = −0.513, P < 0.001), and interference of symptoms (r = −0.596, P < 0.001). Conclusions: Significant impairment of QoL was noted among patients with CML primarily due to the burden of symptom related to side effects of imatinib. This issue must be addressed both in the clinic as well as in all studies of CML.

Keywords

Chronic myeloid leukemia - quality of life - symptom burden


Publication History

Article published online:
06 July 2021

© 2017. Indian Society of Medical and Paediatric Oncology. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial-License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.)

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