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Frequency of venous thrombotic events in patients with myelodysplastic syndrome and 5q deletion syndrome during lenalidomide therapy

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Abstract

Lenalidomide is known to increase the risk of venous thromboembolism in patients with hematologic malignancies. The role of antithrombotic prophylaxis in patients receiving lenalidomide is well established in multiple myeloma. However, when used in patients with a myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS)—in particular, del(5q) patients—the risk of venous thromboembolism and the need for anticoagulation are unknown. We performed a retrospective for MDS patients with 5q deletion. The total number of patients was 64, and 24 (38%) were treated with lenalidomide. Of those who received lenalidomide, venous thrombotic events (VTE) occurred in 4 (17%). All events occurred after 1 year of lenalidomide therapy. Although limited by the cohort size, concurrent erythropoietin-stimulating agents (ESAs) were not associated with increased thrombotic events, and the diagnosis of VTE did not affect survival. Our data suggest an increased incidence of VTE with prolonged lenalidomide treatment, mainly if MDS responds to this therapy.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Hematology, Mayo Clinic, 200 First St SW, Rochester, MN, 55905, USA

    Omar A. Alkharabsheh, Salwa S. Saadeh, Darci L. Zblewski, Naseema Gangat, Kebede H. Begna, Michelle A. Elliott, Hassan B. Alkhateeb, Mrinal S. Patnaik, William J. Hogan, Mark R. Litzow & Aref Al-Kali

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  1. Omar A. Alkharabsheh
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  2. Salwa S. Saadeh
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  3. Darci L. Zblewski
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  4. Naseema Gangat
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  5. Kebede H. Begna
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  6. Michelle A. Elliott
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  7. Hassan B. Alkhateeb
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All authors contributed equally to the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Aref Al-Kali.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.

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This is a retrospective study, approved by the Mayo Clinic IRB; informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Publication: Part of this manuscript was accepted for publication at the American Society of Hematology Annual meeting 2017

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Alkharabsheh, O.A., Saadeh, S.S., Zblewski, D.L. et al. Frequency of venous thrombotic events in patients with myelodysplastic syndrome and 5q deletion syndrome during lenalidomide therapy. Ann Hematol 98, 331–337 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00277-018-3509-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00277-018-3509-0

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