C017 | THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL BURDEN OF ANEMIA AND TRANSFUSIONS IN MYELOFIBROSIS: INSIGHTS FROM THE ITALIAN HEALTHCARE CONTEXT

Background: Anemia is a common and progressive feature in myelofibrosis (MF), associated with worse outcome and impaired quality of life. The BEAT project recently quantified the impact of MF-related anemia management in Italy from patients (pts) and healthcare system (HCS) perspectives. Aim: Here, we estimated the time, financial and psychological burden associated with anemia in MF. Methods: Data were collected through (i) online interviews with 14 hematologists, and (ii) an online questionnaire completed by 191 MF pts. Pts were stratified by DIPSS risk sand anemia status: non-anemic (NA), anemic w/o transfusions (A), and transfusion-dependent (TD). An analytical model was developed to estimate the time and economic burden for pts, caregivers, and the HCS over 1 year. Results:Transfusions represent a major burden, averaging 7.3 hours/access. TD-pts spent an average of 147.8 hours/year (h/y) on MF- and anemia-related care (including check-ups, supplementary blood tests, combined check-ups and transfusions, and transfusion-only accesses), compared to 20.9 and 30.1 h/y for NA- and A-pts, respectively. Healthcare personnel (HCP) time per pt was estimated at 3.5, 5.2, and 17 h/y for NA-, A-, and TD pts, respectively. Assuming 1800 MF pts nationally, HCP and pt time spent on disease-related care totaled 11829 and 82868 h/y, respectively, of which ~52% and ~60% were attributable to TD pts, despite representing only ~19% of MF-pts. The total annual cost of anemia management for the HCS (including personnel, overheads and blood bags) was estimated at ~€2.5 mln, with 89.3% due to TD pt care. The estimated annual social cost for all working MF pts and caregivers was ~€2.3 mln, with 59.6% linked to TD pts. Pt-reported data confirmed the high daily burden of anemia and transfusions, and low use of psychological or peer support, especially among TD-pts. Conversely, TD-pts reported greater disease awareness, with hematologists being the primary source of information, followed by advocacy groups and Internet sources. General practitioners were rarely consulted. Conclusions: This study highlights the substantial time and financial burden of anemia in MF. Transfusion dependency represents the most challenging feature for both pts and the HCS, thus its prevention and management are warranted. The limited use of psychological support and gaps in patient knowledge about specific topics suggest an unmet need requiring improved health literacy and hospital resource allocation.