The Incidence of Invasive Fungal Infections in Patients With AML Treated With a Hypomethylating Agent
Newly diagnosed patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) who receive induction with a hypomethylating agent (HMA) are often neutropenic with an increased risk for invasive fungal infections (IFIs). This study analyzed the incidence and risk factors for IFIs in these patients, evaluated clinical pa...
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Published in | Clinical lymphoma, myeloma and leukemia Vol. 21; no. 1; pp. e76 - e83 |
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Main Authors | , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
United States
Elsevier Inc
01.01.2021
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Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Newly diagnosed patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) who receive induction with a hypomethylating agent (HMA) are often neutropenic with an increased risk for invasive fungal infections (IFIs). This study analyzed the incidence and risk factors for IFIs in these patients, evaluated clinical patterns in antifungal prophylaxis, and assessed the diagnostic utility of tests in this setting.
We studied 117 newly diagnosed patients with AML treated with HMAs at our center, divided into groups based on concern for IFI (cIFI: all possible, probable, and proven IFIs) versus no concern for IFI. The Fisher exact test compared patients with cIFI versus without, and a multivariable logistic regression model estimated odds for cIFI.
Sixty-seven (57%) patients had cIFI, with 48 possible IFIs, 17 probable, and 2 proven cases. There was no difference in incidence based on home zip code, but the presence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease was highly associated with cIFI (P = .001), as was male gender (P = .01). Neutropenia at treatment initiation was borderline in significance (P = .08). In diagnostics, 9% of patients had positive serum fungal markers, and 30 patients underwent bronchoscopy, with only 27% of cases yielding positive results. There was a difference in treatment regimens between patients receiving antifungal prophylaxis with mold coverage versus without mold coverage with respect to cIFI (P = .04).
cIFI in patients with AML treated with HMAs remains significant, especially in males and those with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, who were found to be at higher risk. This may prompt clinicians to consider anti-mold prophylaxis in this setting.
The aim of our study was to selectively analyze newly diagnosed patients with acute myeloid leukemia treated with a hypomethylating agent and establish their risk for developing invasive fungal infections (IFIs). We stratified patients into concern for IFI versus no concern, and observed that patients of the male gender and those with underlying chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are at higher risk for concern for IFI, which may prompt clinicians to consider anti-mold prophylaxis in this setting. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 2152-2650 2152-2669 |
DOI: | 10.1016/j.clml.2020.08.013 |