847P - Fatal infections among leukemia patients

Background

Infection is an important cause of death in patients with leukemia, while no studies have reported its incidence. We conducted a population-based analysis of fatal infections in patients with leukemia to analyze trends and address the current lack of evidence.

Methods

Data were collected from the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program registries. SMR was estimated as the ratio of the number of leukemia patients with fatal infections to the number of fatal infections in the general population with similar age, sex, race and calendar year distribution.

Results

Of 137820 leukemia patients, 2863 had a fatal infection. The fatal infection rate per 100,000 person-years was 389.32 and the SMR was 3.38 (95% CI 3.67-3.99, p< 0.05). Patients with acute monocytic leukemia had the highest SMR (SMR=89.01;95% CI 50.87-144.54). SMR for fatal infections decreases gradually with age, with the highest being in patients aged 0-19 years SMR=222.47; 95% CI 183.18-267.69). Notably, the risk of fatal infections continues to rise in patients with leukemia compared to the general population, with the highest risk in patients diagnosed in 2011-2018 (SMR= 9.87; 95% CI 8.58-11.30).

Conclusions

The risk of fatal infections has increased in recent years with the introduction of novel drugs. Prevention and treatment of fatal infections remains an important aspect of improving the overall survival. Close monitoring of patients with acute monocytic leukemia, as well as younger patients, should be considered for the timely administration of antibiotics and modification of chemotherapy regimens.

Clinical trial identification

Editorial acknowledgement

Legal entity responsible for the study

The authors.

Funding

Has not received any funding.

Disclosure

All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.