Health-related quality of life with standard and curative therapies in thalassemia: A narrative literature review

Richa Shah, Sherif M. Badawy*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

Abstract

Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is a patient-reported outcome that assesses the impact of a disease or illness on different domains of a patient's life. Different general and disease-specific measures can be used to evaluate HRQOL. This article aimed to summarize the evidence for HRQOL among patients with transfusion-dependent (TDT) and non-transfusion-dependent thalassemia (NTDT). We included HRQOL data related to standard therapy with blood transfusions, iron chelation, and/or luspatercept in TDT and NTDT, as well as curative therapies for TDT, including hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) and gene therapy. Patients with thalassemia had worse HRQOL scores compared to the general population, and chronic pain was seen to increase in frequency and severity over time with age. NTDT patients reported worse physical health and functioning, mental health, general health, and vitality than TDT patients. However, TDT patients reported worse pain, change in health, and social support than NTDT. Most therapies improved overall HRQOL among thalassemia patients. Deferasirox, an oral iron chelator, was associated with more HRQOL benefits compared to deferoxamine, an intravenous iron chelator. Luspatercept showed clinically meaningful improvement in physical functioning among TDT and NTDT. Furthermore, HSCT and gene therapy were associated with better physical, emotional, and mental domains scores.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)50-62
Number of pages13
JournalAnnals of the New York Academy of Sciences
Volume1532
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 2024

Funding

This project was supported by a grant (K23HL150232, PI: Badawy) from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the National Institutes of Health.

Keywords

  • gene therapy editing
  • luspatercept
  • patient-reported outcomes
  • quality of life
  • stem cell transplant
  • thalassemia

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
  • General Neuroscience
  • History and Philosophy of Science

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