Patients receiving intravenous/ subcutaneous (IV/SC) hypomethylating agents (HMAs) for the management of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) experienced pain/discomfort and interference with social and daily activities, according to a study published in Clinical Lymphoma Myeloma and Leukemia. Amer M. Zeidan, MBBS, MHS, and colleagues conducted an online cross-sectional survey among adult patients with MDS (or caregivers as proxies) invited by two US MDS patient advocacy groups. Patients were required to have received IV/SC HMA within 6 months of the survey. The survey was completed by 141 participants (120 patients, 21 caregiver proxies). HMA treatments received included SC azacitidine (37%), IV azacitidine (36%), and IV decitabine (27%). Among 89 IV HMA recipients, 74.2% and 69.7% reported treatment-related interference with their social and daily activities, respectively, and 66.3% reported pain related to treatment administration. Following an injection, SC HMA recipients reported pain (94.2%) and interference with daily (86.5%) and social (80.8%) activities. Among the 49.6% of patients who were working, 61.4% felt less productive due to treatment. Most (69.5%) patients with MDS indicated they would prefer oral MDS treatment to IV/ SC therapies.
