Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on treatment of patients with acute myeloid leukaemia in India

• Published in: British journal of haematology 2024-11, Vol.205 (5), p.2058-2062
• Main Authors: Philip, Chepsy, Selvarajan, Sushil, Nayak, Lingaraj, Jain, Hasmukh, Kulkarni, Uday, Samuel, Prasanna, Agrawal, Narendra, Kayal, Smita, Mishra, Kundan, Pavitra, D S, Jayachandran, P K, Bala, Stalin Chowdary, Raghavan, Vineetha, Paul, Mobin, Singh, Jagdeep, Sreeraj, V, Mujumdar, Swaratika, Nayak, Akshatha, Prakash, Om, Barath, U, Dharmaraj, Aravind, Rajendra, Akhil, Thorat, Jayashree, Bagal, Bhausaheb, Abraham, Aby, Bhurani, Dinesh, Ganesan, Prasanth, Sengar, Manju, Mathews, Vikram
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acute myeloid leukemia; Adult; Aged; COVID-19; COVID-19 - epidemiology; Female; Humans; India - epidemiology; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute - drug therapy; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute - therapy; Male; Middle Aged; Pandemics; SARS-CoV-2
• ISSN: 0007-1048; 1365-2141; 1365-2141
• DOI: 10.1111/bjh.19750

During the COVID-19 pandemic, our findings highlight changes in AML management strategies in India. There was a decrease in overall patient registrations, particularly at large referral centers, while smaller centers saw an increase, reflecting a shift towards more localized care. This shift was accompanied by a rise in the use of hypomethylating agents (HMAs). Despite these changes, survival outcomes remained comparable to pre-pandemic levels, likely due to improved infection control measures and maintaining treatment protocols. Our study concludes that standard AML care remained feasible during the pandemic, emphasizing the importance of continuing treatment for eligible patients even in times of crisis.