Presentation (CTI)

OBJECTIVES: To describe the proportion of patients with anemia, treatments used for anemia, and time from anemia start to myelofibrosis (MF) diagnosis based on data from the Hematological Impact in Myelofibrosis in Emerging Markets in Argentina (HeIIM-A) and Brazil (HeIIM-B) studies.
METHODS: HeIIM retrospective study used medical records based on health terms from private insurance plans from Argentina (2010-2022) and claims data from Brazil (2015-2022). The study population included patients ≥18 years with ≥1 MF-related term/ICD-10 code. Index (proxy for MF diagnosis) was the first recorded date of the MF-related term/ICD-10 code. Anemia was classified based on: Hemoglobin <12 g/dL and/or received anemia-related medication and/or ≥1 red blood cell (RBC) transfusion (HeIIM-A); ≥2 claims with anemia-related ICD-10 codes, or ≥1 claim and received anemia-related medication, or ≥1 RBC transfusion (HellM-B). The number of patients with anemia, time from anemia start to MF diagnosis (months), and treatment for anemia were described.
RESULTS: Over half of patients with MF were anemic (HeIIM-A: n=120/228, 52.6%; HeIIM-B: n=185/334, 55.4%). Among these, 88 (73.3%) and 127 (68.6%) patients were classified as anemic before MF diagnosis in HeIIM-A and HeIIM-B, respectively, with median (interquartile range) time of 1.1 (2.9) month and 3.6 (9.8) months from anemia start to MF diagnosis. Among those with anemia, 50.8% in HeIIM-A (n=61/120) and 75.1% (n=139/185) in HeIIM-B received RBC transfusion. Epoetin alfa was used by 68 (56.7%) patients in HeIIM-A and 97 (52.4%) in HeIIM-B. Danazol was used by three patients in each country.
CONCLUSIONS: Anemia is a highly prevalent and burdensome manifestation of MF with over half of patients with anemia receiving RBC transfusions in both Argentina and Brazil. Almost three-quarters of patients developed anemia before their MF diagnosis, highlighting anemia as an early indicator of MF, and the importance of its early detection and monitoring for timely management.