Real-World Disease Management and Outcomes in Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia

Chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) diagnosis is based on the demonstration of a BCR-ABL fusion transcript expressed by the Philadelphia (Ph) chromosome by RQ-PCR and/or the demonstration of t(9;22)(q34;q11) by conventional karyotyping or interphase FISH. As per standard practice, response to therapy is monitored using either molecular or cytogenetic tests or both; specifically, patients are monitored by quantitative PCR on peripheral blood, supplemented by bone marrow karyotyping if it was clinically indicated. ABL kinase mutational analysis is carried out when the transcript ratio has increased over two sequential samples or on clinical demand. Testing for T315I mutation is also performed for patients who fail to respond to first line TKI and all patients who acquire TKI resistance over the course of their treatment.

Data collection is initiated six months after date of diagnosis; research nurses working to agreed operating procedures and data standards visit each of the 14 hospitals in the region and abstract a core clinical dataset from the patients' medical records. The information collected includes demographic details, baseline blood count data and first line treatment. All details are abstracted onto structured forms and entered onto the web-based system, which integrates Haematological Malignancy Research Network (HMRN) and Haematological Malignancy Diagnostic Service (HMDS) data. An important feature of data acquisition is the emphasis on primary source information; data from radiology reports, blood tests, clinical examination, and clinician summaries are recorded, enabling embedded algorithms in the database system to automatically generate stage and prognostic scores. Further data abstraction from the medical records has been undertaken to capture information on subsequent treatment lines. Information on date and cause of death were obtained from the National Health Service (NHS) Central Register.