Population level survival of patients with chronic myelocytic leukemia in Germany compared to the US in the early 21st century

Abstract

IntroductionThe advent of tyrosine kinase inhibitors has produced 5-year survival of 90 + % for chronic myelocytic leukemia (CML) patients in clinical trials. However, population level survival has been lower, especially in older patients. Here, we examine survival of patients with CML in Germany and compare it to survival of patients in the United States (US).MethodsData were extracted from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database in the US and 11 cancer registries in Germany. Patients 15–69 years old diagnosed with CML were included in the analysis. Period analysis for 2002–2006 was used to provide the most up-to-date possible estimates of five-year relative survival.ResultsFive-year relative survival was 68.7% overall in Germany and 72.7% in the US. Survival was higher in the US for all age groups except for ages 15–39 years, but the difference was only statistically significant for ages 50–59 years (at 67.5% vs 77.7% in Germany and the US, respectively). Survival decreased with age, ranging from 83.1% and 81.9%, respectively, in Germany and the US for patients 15–39 years old to 54.2% and 54.5%, respectively, in patients 65–69 years old. Survival increased between 2002 and 2006 by 12.0% points in Germany and 17.1% points in the US.ConclusionsFive-year survival estimates were higher in the US than in Germany overall, but the difference was only significant for ages 50–59 years. Survival did not equal that seen in clinical trials for either country, but strong improvement in survival was seen between 2002 and 2006.

Trends in survival of multiple myeloma patients in Germany and the United States in the first decade of the 21st century

“…Survival for younger patients with multiple myeloma was higher in Germany as compared to the US. This pattern of lower survival for patients at younger ages in the US as compared to Germany but with survival for older patients being similar or higher in the US has been observed with other haematological malignancies (Pulte et al , ,b). Although we cannot definitely state the reason for this, several possible explanations might be considered.…”

Incidence and patient survival of myeloproliferative neoplasms and myelodysplastic/myeloproliferative neoplasms in the United States, 2001–12

“…With the exception of CML (Brunner et al , ; Pulte et al , ), population‐based studies describing survival of MPNs in the US are sparse (Rollison et al , ; Price et al , ), in contrast to reports emanating from European countries (Phekoo et al , ; Barbui et al , ; Maynadie et al , , ; Cervantes et al , ; Hultcrantz et al , ; Sant et al , ; Osca‐Gelis et al , ). This is the first US population‐based study to describe 5‐year RS of MPN and MDS/MPN by individual subtype, sex and age for cases diagnosed in the modern diagnostic and treatment era.…”

Moving treatment-free remission into mainstream clinical practice in CML

“…Based on data primarily from the first half of the decade in which TKIs were introduced, the 5-year relative survival was ;70%, in comparison with relative survival as low as 10% to 20% a decade earlier when interferon (IFN)-a or allogeneic stem cell transplantation was the standard of care. 3 More recent data are likely to be better still: in the same population-based study, the 5-year relative survival for CML patients diagnosed in 2002 was 63% and increased to 80% for patients diagnosed in 2006.…”