Key clinical point: Obesity, anxiety, depression, and illness perception at baseline were associated with treatment outcomes, pain, and fatigue in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Major finding: At 12 months, obesity vs. normal weight was associated with a lower likelihood of remission (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.33; P=.005). Obesity and illness perception were significantly associated with pain (aOR, 8.16; P = .002 and aOR, 0.62; P < .001, respectively) and fatigue (aOR, 5.66; P = .049 and aOR, 0.51; P = .001, respectively) with patients with severe vs. no anxiety having higher pain (aOR, 9.60; P = .010) and those with severe (aOR, 17.07; P < .001) and moderate (aOR, 10.13; P = .001) depression having higher fatigue.

Study details: This secondary analysis of the TITRATE trial included 335 patients with RA treated with intensive management (n=168) or standard care (n=167).

Disclosures: This study was funded by the National Institute for Health Research. E Nikiphorou received speaker fees and served on advisory boards for various sources. Other authors declared no competing interest.

Source: Lee SY et al. Arthritis Res Ther. 2021 Nov 4. doi: 10.1186/s13075-021-02653-1.

Key clinical point: Obesity, anxiety, depression, and illness perception at baseline were associated with treatment outcomes, pain, and fatigue in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Major finding: At 12 months, obesity vs. normal weight was associated with a lower likelihood of remission (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.33; P=.005). Obesity and illness perception were significantly associated with pain (aOR, 8.16; P = .002 and aOR, 0.62; P < .001, respectively) and fatigue (aOR, 5.66; P = .049 and aOR, 0.51; P = .001, respectively) with patients with severe vs. no anxiety having higher pain (aOR, 9.60; P = .010) and those with severe (aOR, 17.07; P < .001) and moderate (aOR, 10.13; P = .001) depression having higher fatigue.

Study details: This secondary analysis of the TITRATE trial included 335 patients with RA treated with intensive management (n=168) or standard care (n=167).

Disclosures: This study was funded by the National Institute for Health Research. E Nikiphorou received speaker fees and served on advisory boards for various sources. Other authors declared no competing interest.

Source: Lee SY et al. Arthritis Res Ther. 2021 Nov 4. doi: 10.1186/s13075-021-02653-1.

Key clinical point: Obesity, anxiety, depression, and illness perception at baseline were associated with treatment outcomes, pain, and fatigue in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Major finding: At 12 months, obesity vs. normal weight was associated with a lower likelihood of remission (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.33; P=.005). Obesity and illness perception were significantly associated with pain (aOR, 8.16; P = .002 and aOR, 0.62; P < .001, respectively) and fatigue (aOR, 5.66; P = .049 and aOR, 0.51; P = .001, respectively) with patients with severe vs. no anxiety having higher pain (aOR, 9.60; P = .010) and those with severe (aOR, 17.07; P < .001) and moderate (aOR, 10.13; P = .001) depression having higher fatigue.

Study details: This secondary analysis of the TITRATE trial included 335 patients with RA treated with intensive management (n=168) or standard care (n=167).

Disclosures: This study was funded by the National Institute for Health Research. E Nikiphorou received speaker fees and served on advisory boards for various sources. Other authors declared no competing interest.

Source: Lee SY et al. Arthritis Res Ther. 2021 Nov 4. doi: 10.1186/s13075-021-02653-1.

Key clinical point: Certolizumab (CTZ) monotherapy seemed as effective as combination therapy with methotrexate (MTX) or leflunomide (LFN) or MTX+LFN in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who failed previous conventional synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (csDMARD) therapy.

Major finding: Overall, 63% of patients were in remission or showed low disease activity (LDA) within 3 months of follow-up, with no difference between groups (P = .080). Most patients maintained response at 12 months, with remission or LDA achieved by 94.4%, 81.8%, 80.5%, and 51.4% of patients receiving CTZ monotherapy, CTZ+MTX, CTZ+LFN, and MTX+LFN, respectively (P = .001).

Study details: This was a retrospective cohort study of 181 patients with RA who were treated for a minimum of 3 months with certolizumab as monotherapy (n=24) or in combination with MTX (n=62), LFN (n=47) or MTX+LFN (n=48).

Disclosures: No information on funding was provided. P Santos-Moreno and A Rojas-Villarrage received fees for conferences, counseling, advisory boards, or travel expenses and research grants from various sources.

Source: Santos-Moreno P et al. Biologics. 2021 Oct 22. doi: 10.2147/BTT.S322860.

Key clinical point: Certolizumab (CTZ) monotherapy seemed as effective as combination therapy with methotrexate (MTX) or leflunomide (LFN) or MTX+LFN in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who failed previous conventional synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (csDMARD) therapy.

Major finding: Overall, 63% of patients were in remission or showed low disease activity (LDA) within 3 months of follow-up, with no difference between groups (P = .080). Most patients maintained response at 12 months, with remission or LDA achieved by 94.4%, 81.8%, 80.5%, and 51.4% of patients receiving CTZ monotherapy, CTZ+MTX, CTZ+LFN, and MTX+LFN, respectively (P = .001).

Study details: This was a retrospective cohort study of 181 patients with RA who were treated for a minimum of 3 months with certolizumab as monotherapy (n=24) or in combination with MTX (n=62), LFN (n=47) or MTX+LFN (n=48).

Disclosures: No information on funding was provided. P Santos-Moreno and A Rojas-Villarrage received fees for conferences, counseling, advisory boards, or travel expenses and research grants from various sources.

Source: Santos-Moreno P et al. Biologics. 2021 Oct 22. doi: 10.2147/BTT.S322860.

Key clinical point: Certolizumab (CTZ) monotherapy seemed as effective as combination therapy with methotrexate (MTX) or leflunomide (LFN) or MTX+LFN in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who failed previous conventional synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (csDMARD) therapy.

Major finding: Overall, 63% of patients were in remission or showed low disease activity (LDA) within 3 months of follow-up, with no difference between groups (P = .080). Most patients maintained response at 12 months, with remission or LDA achieved by 94.4%, 81.8%, 80.5%, and 51.4% of patients receiving CTZ monotherapy, CTZ+MTX, CTZ+LFN, and MTX+LFN, respectively (P = .001).

Study details: This was a retrospective cohort study of 181 patients with RA who were treated for a minimum of 3 months with certolizumab as monotherapy (n=24) or in combination with MTX (n=62), LFN (n=47) or MTX+LFN (n=48).

Disclosures: No information on funding was provided. P Santos-Moreno and A Rojas-Villarrage received fees for conferences, counseling, advisory boards, or travel expenses and research grants from various sources.

Source: Santos-Moreno P et al. Biologics. 2021 Oct 22. doi: 10.2147/BTT.S322860.

Key clinical point: Elevated T helper (Th)1, Th17, or Th1/T-regulatory (Treg) cell frequencies in the peripheral blood were significantly associated with the development of atrial fibrillation (AF) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Major finding: The percentage of Th1 cells (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.05; P = .0027], absolute number of Th17 cells (aOR, 1.11; P = .0046), and ratio of Th1/Treg (aOR, 1.08; P = .0374) were significantly associated with AF development in RA.

Study details: This was a retrospective case-control study of 40 patients with RA and AF who were propensity matched (1:3) with 120 control patients with RA.

Disclosures: This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Excellent Youth Foundation of Shanxi Province. No conflict of interests was reported.

Source: Wang X et al. Front Immunol. 2021 Oct 15. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.744254.

Key clinical point: Elevated T helper (Th)1, Th17, or Th1/T-regulatory (Treg) cell frequencies in the peripheral blood were significantly associated with the development of atrial fibrillation (AF) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Major finding: The percentage of Th1 cells (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.05; P = .0027], absolute number of Th17 cells (aOR, 1.11; P = .0046), and ratio of Th1/Treg (aOR, 1.08; P = .0374) were significantly associated with AF development in RA.

Study details: This was a retrospective case-control study of 40 patients with RA and AF who were propensity matched (1:3) with 120 control patients with RA.

Disclosures: This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Excellent Youth Foundation of Shanxi Province. No conflict of interests was reported.

Source: Wang X et al. Front Immunol. 2021 Oct 15. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.744254.

Key clinical point: Elevated T helper (Th)1, Th17, or Th1/T-regulatory (Treg) cell frequencies in the peripheral blood were significantly associated with the development of atrial fibrillation (AF) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Major finding: The percentage of Th1 cells (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.05; P = .0027], absolute number of Th17 cells (aOR, 1.11; P = .0046), and ratio of Th1/Treg (aOR, 1.08; P = .0374) were significantly associated with AF development in RA.

Study details: This was a retrospective case-control study of 40 patients with RA and AF who were propensity matched (1:3) with 120 control patients with RA.

Disclosures: This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Excellent Youth Foundation of Shanxi Province. No conflict of interests was reported.

Source: Wang X et al. Front Immunol. 2021 Oct 15. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.744254.

Key clinical point: Baricitinib maintained a stable safety profile with no new safety signals even with long-term exposure of up to 9.3 years in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Major finding: Incidence rates (IRs) per 100 patient-years at risk for serious infections (incidence ratio [IR], 2.6; 95% CI, 2.33-2.86), herpes zoster (IR, 3.0; 95% CI, 2.70-3.28), major adverse cardiovascular events (IR, 0.5; 95% CI, 0.40-0.64), and malignancies excluding nonmelanoma skin cancer (IR, 0.9; 95% CI, 0.77-1.09) remained stable from previous report.

Study details: This was an integrated analysis of 9 randomized clinical trials and 1 long-term extension trial including 3,770 patients with RA who received any dose of baricitinib.

Disclosures: Eli Lilly and Company funded this research. W Deberdt, M Issa, JR Terres, and N Bello reported being employees and stockholders of Eli Lilly and Company. The other authors reported receiving grant/research assistance and consultancy/speakers’ fees from various companies including Eli Lilly.

Source: Taylor PC et al. Ann Rheum Dis. 2021 Oct 27. doi: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2021-221276.

Key clinical point: Baricitinib maintained a stable safety profile with no new safety signals even with long-term exposure of up to 9.3 years in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Major finding: Incidence rates (IRs) per 100 patient-years at risk for serious infections (incidence ratio [IR], 2.6; 95% CI, 2.33-2.86), herpes zoster (IR, 3.0; 95% CI, 2.70-3.28), major adverse cardiovascular events (IR, 0.5; 95% CI, 0.40-0.64), and malignancies excluding nonmelanoma skin cancer (IR, 0.9; 95% CI, 0.77-1.09) remained stable from previous report.

Study details: This was an integrated analysis of 9 randomized clinical trials and 1 long-term extension trial including 3,770 patients with RA who received any dose of baricitinib.

Disclosures: Eli Lilly and Company funded this research. W Deberdt, M Issa, JR Terres, and N Bello reported being employees and stockholders of Eli Lilly and Company. The other authors reported receiving grant/research assistance and consultancy/speakers’ fees from various companies including Eli Lilly.

Source: Taylor PC et al. Ann Rheum Dis. 2021 Oct 27. doi: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2021-221276.

Key clinical point: Baricitinib maintained a stable safety profile with no new safety signals even with long-term exposure of up to 9.3 years in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Major finding: Incidence rates (IRs) per 100 patient-years at risk for serious infections (incidence ratio [IR], 2.6; 95% CI, 2.33-2.86), herpes zoster (IR, 3.0; 95% CI, 2.70-3.28), major adverse cardiovascular events (IR, 0.5; 95% CI, 0.40-0.64), and malignancies excluding nonmelanoma skin cancer (IR, 0.9; 95% CI, 0.77-1.09) remained stable from previous report.

Study details: This was an integrated analysis of 9 randomized clinical trials and 1 long-term extension trial including 3,770 patients with RA who received any dose of baricitinib.

Disclosures: Eli Lilly and Company funded this research. W Deberdt, M Issa, JR Terres, and N Bello reported being employees and stockholders of Eli Lilly and Company. The other authors reported receiving grant/research assistance and consultancy/speakers’ fees from various companies including Eli Lilly.

Source: Taylor PC et al. Ann Rheum Dis. 2021 Oct 27. doi: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2021-221276.

Key clinical point: Biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (bDMARD) monotherapy may increase the risk for progression of preexisting distal interphalangeal (DIP) osteoarthritis in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), primarily by promoting osteophyte growth.

Major finding: Compared with conventional synthetic DMARD (csDMARD) monotherapy, bDMARD monotherapy was associated with an increased risk for radiographic progression of existing DIP osteoarthritis (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 1.34; 95% CI, 1.07-1.69), with osteophyte progression (aHR, 1.74; 95% CI, 1.11-2.74) being the most elevated osteoarthritis feature with bDMARD vs. csDMARD use.

Study details: This study included 2,234 adult patients with RA from a longitudinal Swiss registry of rheumatic diseases, who had at least 2 hand radiographs and were grouped into cohorts with (n=1,340) or without (n=894) DIP osteoarthritis at baseline.

Disclosures: This study was sponsored by pharmaceutical companies like AbbVie, Amgen, and Gilead. All the authors declared no conflict of interests.

Source: Lechtenboehmer CA et al. Arthritis Res Ther. 2021 Oct 26. doi: 10.1186/s13075-021-02654-0.

Key clinical point: Biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (bDMARD) monotherapy may increase the risk for progression of preexisting distal interphalangeal (DIP) osteoarthritis in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), primarily by promoting osteophyte growth.

Major finding: Compared with conventional synthetic DMARD (csDMARD) monotherapy, bDMARD monotherapy was associated with an increased risk for radiographic progression of existing DIP osteoarthritis (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 1.34; 95% CI, 1.07-1.69), with osteophyte progression (aHR, 1.74; 95% CI, 1.11-2.74) being the most elevated osteoarthritis feature with bDMARD vs. csDMARD use.

Study details: This study included 2,234 adult patients with RA from a longitudinal Swiss registry of rheumatic diseases, who had at least 2 hand radiographs and were grouped into cohorts with (n=1,340) or without (n=894) DIP osteoarthritis at baseline.

Disclosures: This study was sponsored by pharmaceutical companies like AbbVie, Amgen, and Gilead. All the authors declared no conflict of interests.

Source: Lechtenboehmer CA et al. Arthritis Res Ther. 2021 Oct 26. doi: 10.1186/s13075-021-02654-0.

Key clinical point: Biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (bDMARD) monotherapy may increase the risk for progression of preexisting distal interphalangeal (DIP) osteoarthritis in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), primarily by promoting osteophyte growth.

Major finding: Compared with conventional synthetic DMARD (csDMARD) monotherapy, bDMARD monotherapy was associated with an increased risk for radiographic progression of existing DIP osteoarthritis (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 1.34; 95% CI, 1.07-1.69), with osteophyte progression (aHR, 1.74; 95% CI, 1.11-2.74) being the most elevated osteoarthritis feature with bDMARD vs. csDMARD use.

Study details: This study included 2,234 adult patients with RA from a longitudinal Swiss registry of rheumatic diseases, who had at least 2 hand radiographs and were grouped into cohorts with (n=1,340) or without (n=894) DIP osteoarthritis at baseline.

Disclosures: This study was sponsored by pharmaceutical companies like AbbVie, Amgen, and Gilead. All the authors declared no conflict of interests.

Source: Lechtenboehmer CA et al. Arthritis Res Ther. 2021 Oct 26. doi: 10.1186/s13075-021-02654-0.

Key clinical point: Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) did not show an increased risk for arthritis flare after completing 2 doses of mRNA (BNT162b2) or inactivated virus (CoronaVac) COVID-19 vaccination.

Major finding: There was no association between receiving 2 doses of mRNA vaccine (adjusted incidence rate ratio [aIRR], 0.86; 95% CI, 0.73-1.01) or inactivated virus vaccine (aIRR, 0.87; 95% CI, 0.74-1.02) and experiencing arthritis flares. The per-patient prescription and distribution of rheumatic drug prescriptions were similar for vaccinated and nonvaccinated patients (P > .1).

Study details: Findings are from a retrospective cohort study including 5,493 patients with RA, of which 653 patients received mRNA vaccine, 671 patients received inactivated virus vaccine, and the remaining were nonvaccinated.

Disclosures: This study was funded by the Food and Health Bureau (FHB), Hong Kong. The authors declared receiving research grants, consultancy fees, postdoctoral fellowship, speaker fees, and/ or honorarium from various sources including FHB.

Source: Li X et al. Ann Rheum Dis. 2021 Oct 22. doi: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2021-221571.

Key clinical point: Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) did not show an increased risk for arthritis flare after completing 2 doses of mRNA (BNT162b2) or inactivated virus (CoronaVac) COVID-19 vaccination.

Major finding: There was no association between receiving 2 doses of mRNA vaccine (adjusted incidence rate ratio [aIRR], 0.86; 95% CI, 0.73-1.01) or inactivated virus vaccine (aIRR, 0.87; 95% CI, 0.74-1.02) and experiencing arthritis flares. The per-patient prescription and distribution of rheumatic drug prescriptions were similar for vaccinated and nonvaccinated patients (P > .1).

Study details: Findings are from a retrospective cohort study including 5,493 patients with RA, of which 653 patients received mRNA vaccine, 671 patients received inactivated virus vaccine, and the remaining were nonvaccinated.

Disclosures: This study was funded by the Food and Health Bureau (FHB), Hong Kong. The authors declared receiving research grants, consultancy fees, postdoctoral fellowship, speaker fees, and/ or honorarium from various sources including FHB.

Source: Li X et al. Ann Rheum Dis. 2021 Oct 22. doi: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2021-221571.

Key clinical point: Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) did not show an increased risk for arthritis flare after completing 2 doses of mRNA (BNT162b2) or inactivated virus (CoronaVac) COVID-19 vaccination.

Major finding: There was no association between receiving 2 doses of mRNA vaccine (adjusted incidence rate ratio [aIRR], 0.86; 95% CI, 0.73-1.01) or inactivated virus vaccine (aIRR, 0.87; 95% CI, 0.74-1.02) and experiencing arthritis flares. The per-patient prescription and distribution of rheumatic drug prescriptions were similar for vaccinated and nonvaccinated patients (P > .1).

Study details: Findings are from a retrospective cohort study including 5,493 patients with RA, of which 653 patients received mRNA vaccine, 671 patients received inactivated virus vaccine, and the remaining were nonvaccinated.

Disclosures: This study was funded by the Food and Health Bureau (FHB), Hong Kong. The authors declared receiving research grants, consultancy fees, postdoctoral fellowship, speaker fees, and/ or honorarium from various sources including FHB.

Source: Li X et al. Ann Rheum Dis. 2021 Oct 22. doi: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2021-221571.

Key clinical point: Mutations in a novel gene ANKRD36 were associated with disease progression in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and may help identify patients at risk of disease progression.

Major finding: Mutations in the ANKRD36 gene (c.1183_1184 delGC and c.1187_1188 dupTT) were exclusively found in all patients with CML in blast crisis (CML-BC) and accelerated phase (CML-AP) but not in those with chronic-phase CML (CML-CP) and healthy controls.

Study details: This study included 141 patients with either CML-CP (n = 123), CML-AP (n = 6), or CML-BC (n = 12) and 10 age- and gender-matched healthy controls.

Disclosures: This study was funded by the National Plan for Science, Technology and Innovation, King Abdul-Aziz City for Science and Technology, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The authors declared no conflict of interests.

Source: Iqbal Z et al. Biology. 2021;10(11):1182 (Nov 15). Doi: 10.3390/biology10111182.

Key clinical point: Mutations in a novel gene ANKRD36 were associated with disease progression in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and may help identify patients at risk of disease progression.

Major finding: Mutations in the ANKRD36 gene (c.1183_1184 delGC and c.1187_1188 dupTT) were exclusively found in all patients with CML in blast crisis (CML-BC) and accelerated phase (CML-AP) but not in those with chronic-phase CML (CML-CP) and healthy controls.

Study details: This study included 141 patients with either CML-CP (n = 123), CML-AP (n = 6), or CML-BC (n = 12) and 10 age- and gender-matched healthy controls.

Disclosures: This study was funded by the National Plan for Science, Technology and Innovation, King Abdul-Aziz City for Science and Technology, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The authors declared no conflict of interests.

Source: Iqbal Z et al. Biology. 2021;10(11):1182 (Nov 15). Doi: 10.3390/biology10111182.

Key clinical point: Mutations in a novel gene ANKRD36 were associated with disease progression in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and may help identify patients at risk of disease progression.

Major finding: Mutations in the ANKRD36 gene (c.1183_1184 delGC and c.1187_1188 dupTT) were exclusively found in all patients with CML in blast crisis (CML-BC) and accelerated phase (CML-AP) but not in those with chronic-phase CML (CML-CP) and healthy controls.

Study details: This study included 141 patients with either CML-CP (n = 123), CML-AP (n = 6), or CML-BC (n = 12) and 10 age- and gender-matched healthy controls.

Disclosures: This study was funded by the National Plan for Science, Technology and Innovation, King Abdul-Aziz City for Science and Technology, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The authors declared no conflict of interests.

Source: Iqbal Z et al. Biology. 2021;10(11):1182 (Nov 15). Doi: 10.3390/biology10111182.

Key clinical point: Female sex, tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) therapy-related symptoms, older age at diagnosis, younger age at the time of the study, and low maternal education were associated with worse health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in children with chronic-phase chronic myeloid leukemia (CML-CP) receiving TKI therapy.

Major finding: Worse HRQoL was observed in children with symptoms (P < .001), children with mothers having low educational qualifications (P = .005), children at a younger age at the time of the study (P = .008), children with older age at the time of diagnosis (P = .007), and female children (P = .038).

Study details: Findings are from a cross-sectional study of 240 respondents including children with CML-CP (age < 18 years at diagnosis) receiving TKI therapy and whose parents responded to a cross-sectional questionnaire.

Disclosures: This study was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China. The authors declared no conflict of interests.

Source: Zheng F et al. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol. 2021(Oct 29). Doi: 10.1007/s00432-021-03832-y.

Key clinical point: Female sex, tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) therapy-related symptoms, older age at diagnosis, younger age at the time of the study, and low maternal education were associated with worse health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in children with chronic-phase chronic myeloid leukemia (CML-CP) receiving TKI therapy.

Major finding: Worse HRQoL was observed in children with symptoms (P < .001), children with mothers having low educational qualifications (P = .005), children at a younger age at the time of the study (P = .008), children with older age at the time of diagnosis (P = .007), and female children (P = .038).

Study details: Findings are from a cross-sectional study of 240 respondents including children with CML-CP (age < 18 years at diagnosis) receiving TKI therapy and whose parents responded to a cross-sectional questionnaire.

Disclosures: This study was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China. The authors declared no conflict of interests.

Source: Zheng F et al. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol. 2021(Oct 29). Doi: 10.1007/s00432-021-03832-y.

Key clinical point: Female sex, tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) therapy-related symptoms, older age at diagnosis, younger age at the time of the study, and low maternal education were associated with worse health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in children with chronic-phase chronic myeloid leukemia (CML-CP) receiving TKI therapy.

Major finding: Worse HRQoL was observed in children with symptoms (P < .001), children with mothers having low educational qualifications (P = .005), children at a younger age at the time of the study (P = .008), children with older age at the time of diagnosis (P = .007), and female children (P = .038).

Study details: Findings are from a cross-sectional study of 240 respondents including children with CML-CP (age < 18 years at diagnosis) receiving TKI therapy and whose parents responded to a cross-sectional questionnaire.

Disclosures: This study was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China. The authors declared no conflict of interests.

Source: Zheng F et al. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol. 2021(Oct 29). Doi: 10.1007/s00432-021-03832-y.

Key clinical point: Adjuvant therapy with interferon-a+sargramostim (IFN) vs. K562/granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) vaccine led to better molecular responses with sustained treatment-free remission (TFR) in tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI)-treated patients with chronic-phase chronic myeloid leukemia (CML-CP).

Major finding: Patients receiving IFN vs. K562/GM-CSF vaccine had a higher rate of undetectable minimal residual disease at 1 year (47.4%; 95% CI 16.7%-66.7% vs. 25%; 95% CI 0.5%-43.5%). TFR was maintained by 36.6% vs. 0.0% of patients receiving IFN vs. K562/GM-CSF vaccine. Treatment discontinuation because of side effects was higher in IFN-treated patients.

Study details: Findings are from a phase 2 trial including 34 adult patients with CML-CP receiving stable dosing of frontline TKI therapy for ≥1 year with a complete cytogenic response who were randomly assigned to IFN or K562/GM-CSF vaccine.

Disclosures: This study was supported by grants from US National Institute of Health. The authors declared no conflict of interests.

Source: Webster JA et al. Leuk Res. 2021;111:106737 (Nov 2). Doi: 10.1016/j.leukres.2021.106737.

Key clinical point: Adjuvant therapy with interferon-a+sargramostim (IFN) vs. K562/granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) vaccine led to better molecular responses with sustained treatment-free remission (TFR) in tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI)-treated patients with chronic-phase chronic myeloid leukemia (CML-CP).

Major finding: Patients receiving IFN vs. K562/GM-CSF vaccine had a higher rate of undetectable minimal residual disease at 1 year (47.4%; 95% CI 16.7%-66.7% vs. 25%; 95% CI 0.5%-43.5%). TFR was maintained by 36.6% vs. 0.0% of patients receiving IFN vs. K562/GM-CSF vaccine. Treatment discontinuation because of side effects was higher in IFN-treated patients.

Study details: Findings are from a phase 2 trial including 34 adult patients with CML-CP receiving stable dosing of frontline TKI therapy for ≥1 year with a complete cytogenic response who were randomly assigned to IFN or K562/GM-CSF vaccine.

Disclosures: This study was supported by grants from US National Institute of Health. The authors declared no conflict of interests.

Source: Webster JA et al. Leuk Res. 2021;111:106737 (Nov 2). Doi: 10.1016/j.leukres.2021.106737.

Key clinical point: Adjuvant therapy with interferon-a+sargramostim (IFN) vs. K562/granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) vaccine led to better molecular responses with sustained treatment-free remission (TFR) in tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI)-treated patients with chronic-phase chronic myeloid leukemia (CML-CP).

Major finding: Patients receiving IFN vs. K562/GM-CSF vaccine had a higher rate of undetectable minimal residual disease at 1 year (47.4%; 95% CI 16.7%-66.7% vs. 25%; 95% CI 0.5%-43.5%). TFR was maintained by 36.6% vs. 0.0% of patients receiving IFN vs. K562/GM-CSF vaccine. Treatment discontinuation because of side effects was higher in IFN-treated patients.

Study details: Findings are from a phase 2 trial including 34 adult patients with CML-CP receiving stable dosing of frontline TKI therapy for ≥1 year with a complete cytogenic response who were randomly assigned to IFN or K562/GM-CSF vaccine.

Disclosures: This study was supported by grants from US National Institute of Health. The authors declared no conflict of interests.

Source: Webster JA et al. Leuk Res. 2021;111:106737 (Nov 2). Doi: 10.1016/j.leukres.2021.106737.

Key clinical point: Statin use alongside imatinib therapy significantly improved deep molecular response (DMR) and major molecular response (MMR) in patients with chronic-phase chronic myeloid leukemia (CML-CP).

Major finding: Imatinib-treated patients receiving statins had higher rates of DMR (55.8% vs. 41.0%; P = .0016) and MMR (56.8% vs. 47.0%; P = .0048) at 5 years than those not receiving statins. Concomitant statin use was independently associated with DMR (hazard ratio [HR] 1.785; P = .001) and MMR (HR 1.541; P = .043).

Study details: Findings are from a retrospective analysis of 408 patients with CML-CP receiving imatinib therapy with (n = 88) or without (n = 320) statins.

Disclosures: This study was supported by a National Research Foundation of Korea grant funded by the Korean government. The authors declared no conflict of interests.

Source: Jang HJ et al. Cancers. 2021;13(21):5543 (Nov 4). Doi: 10.3390/cancers13215543.

Key clinical point: Statin use alongside imatinib therapy significantly improved deep molecular response (DMR) and major molecular response (MMR) in patients with chronic-phase chronic myeloid leukemia (CML-CP).

Major finding: Imatinib-treated patients receiving statins had higher rates of DMR (55.8% vs. 41.0%; P = .0016) and MMR (56.8% vs. 47.0%; P = .0048) at 5 years than those not receiving statins. Concomitant statin use was independently associated with DMR (hazard ratio [HR] 1.785; P = .001) and MMR (HR 1.541; P = .043).

Study details: Findings are from a retrospective analysis of 408 patients with CML-CP receiving imatinib therapy with (n = 88) or without (n = 320) statins.

Disclosures: This study was supported by a National Research Foundation of Korea grant funded by the Korean government. The authors declared no conflict of interests.

Source: Jang HJ et al. Cancers. 2021;13(21):5543 (Nov 4). Doi: 10.3390/cancers13215543.

Key clinical point: Statin use alongside imatinib therapy significantly improved deep molecular response (DMR) and major molecular response (MMR) in patients with chronic-phase chronic myeloid leukemia (CML-CP).

Major finding: Imatinib-treated patients receiving statins had higher rates of DMR (55.8% vs. 41.0%; P = .0016) and MMR (56.8% vs. 47.0%; P = .0048) at 5 years than those not receiving statins. Concomitant statin use was independently associated with DMR (hazard ratio [HR] 1.785; P = .001) and MMR (HR 1.541; P = .043).

Study details: Findings are from a retrospective analysis of 408 patients with CML-CP receiving imatinib therapy with (n = 88) or without (n = 320) statins.

Disclosures: This study was supported by a National Research Foundation of Korea grant funded by the Korean government. The authors declared no conflict of interests.

Source: Jang HJ et al. Cancers. 2021;13(21):5543 (Nov 4). Doi: 10.3390/cancers13215543.