Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Correspondence
  • Published:

ACUTE MYELOID LEUKEMIA

Improved relative survival in older patients with acute myeloid leukemia over a 30-year period in the Netherlands: a long haul is needed to change nothing into something

Leukemia volume 36, pages 596–598 (2022)Cite this article

Subjects

It was somewhat disheartening to read Martínez-Cuadrón and colleagues’ article about the general lack of improvement in the overall survival (OS) of 3637 older patients (≥60 years) diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in Spain during 1999–2013 [1]. This finding is rather unexpected since AML management has gradually evolved over the past decades, particularly in recent years [2]. The authors acknowledged that their study’s major limitation was using a cooperative group registry instead of a population-based registry, thereby impeding their study findings’ generalizability.

To complement and extend their observations, we here report the results of a nationwide, population-based study that describes trends in primary therapy and relative survival (RS) among more than 12,000 older patients diagnosed with AML in the Netherlands during a 30-year period.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1: Primary therapy of older (≥60 years) patients with AML in the Netherlands.
Fig. 2: Relative survival of older (≥60 years) patients with AML in the Netherlands, 1989–2018.

References

  1. Martinez-Cuadron D, Serrano J, Gil C, Tormo M, Martinez-Sanchez P, Perez-Simon JA, et al. Evolving treatment patterns and outcomes in older patients (≥60 years) with AML: changing everything to change nothing? Leukemia. 2021;35:1571–85. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41375-020-01058-4. Epub 2020 Oct 19.

  2. Estey E. New treatments for acute myeloid leukemia: how much has changed? Leukemia. 2021;35:45–6.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Dinmohamed AG, Visser O, van Norden Y, Blijlevens NM, Cornelissen JJ, Huls GA, et al. Treatment, trial participation and survival in adult acute myeloid leukemia: a population-based study in the Netherlands, 1989-2012. Leukemia. 2016;30:24–31.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Henson DE, Ries LA. The relative survival rate. Cancer. 1995;76:1687–8.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Dickman PW, Sloggett A, Hills M, Hakulinen T. Regression models for relative survival. Stat Med. 2004;23:51–64.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Versluis J, Hazenberg CL, Passweg JR, van Putten WL, Maertens J, Biemond BJ, et al. Post-remission treatment with allogeneic stem cell transplantation in patients aged 60 years and older with acute myeloid leukaemia: a time-dependent analysis. Lancet Haematol. 2015;2:e427–36.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the registration clerks of the Netherlands Cancer Registry (NCR) for their dedicated data collection. The nationwide population-based NCR is maintained and hosted by the Netherlands Comprehensive Cancer Organisation (IKNL).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Medical Decision Making, Department of Public Health, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

    Z. L. Rana Kaplan & Nikki van Leeuwen

  2. Department of Research and Development, Netherlands Comprehensive Cancer Organisation (IKNL), Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Z. L. Rana Kaplan & Avinash G. Dinmohamed

  3. Department of Internal Medicine, Reinier de Graaf Gasthuis, Delft, The Netherlands

    Eduardus F. M. Posthuma

  4. Department of Hematology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands

    Eduardus F. M. Posthuma

  5. Department of Registration, Netherlands Comprehensive Cancer Organisation (IKNL), Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Otto Visser

  6. Department of Hematology, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands

    Gerwin Huls

  7. Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Department of Hematology, Cancer Center Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Arjan A. van de Loosdrecht & Avinash G. Dinmohamed

  8. Department of Public Health, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

    Avinash G. Dinmohamed

Authors
  1. Z. L. Rana Kaplan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Nikki van Leeuwen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Eduardus F. M. Posthuma
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Otto Visser
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Gerwin Huls
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Arjan A. van de Loosdrecht
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Avinash G. Dinmohamed
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

AGD designed the study; ZLRK analyzed the data; OV was responsible for the data collection; ZLRK wrote the manuscript with contributions from all authors, who also interpreted the data, and read, commented on, and approved the final version of the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Avinash G. Dinmohamed.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Supplementary information

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Kaplan, Z.L.R., van Leeuwen, N., Posthuma, E.F.M. et al. Improved relative survival in older patients with acute myeloid leukemia over a 30-year period in the Netherlands: a long haul is needed to change nothing into something. Leukemia 36, 596–598 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41375-021-01503-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41375-021-01503-y

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links