Therapy-related Myeloid Neoplasms: Considerations for Patients' Clinical Evaluation

Abstract

Therapy-related myeloid neoplasms (t-MNs) encompass a specific sub-group of myeloid malignancies arising after exposure to radio/cytotoxic agents for the treatment of unrelated diseases. Such malignancies present unique features, including advanced age, high comorbidities burden, and unfavorable genetic profiles. All these features justify the need for a specific diagnostic work-up and dedicated treatment algorithms. However, as new classification systems recognize the unique clinical characteristics exhibited by t-MN patients, how to assess fitness status in this clinical setting is largely unexplored. Optimizing fitness assessment would be crucial in the management of t-MN patients, considering that factors usually contributing to a worse or better outcome (like age, comorbidities, and treatment history) are patient-specific. In the absence of specific tools for fitness assessment in this peculiar category of AML, the aim of this review is to describe all those factors related to patient, treatment, and disease that allow planning treatments with an optimal risk/benefit ratio.

Keywords: Clinical evaluation; T-AML; T-MN.

Figure 1

Organ-specific comorbidities induced by cytotoxic agents.

Figure 2

Patient, treatment, and disease-related factors with a possible influence of therapy selection in patients with t-MNs. Abbreviations: PS, Performance Status; QoL, Quality of Life.