Objectives: Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and chronic myelomonocytic leukaemia (CMML) are associated with systemic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases (SIADs) in 10-30% of cases. The aims of this study were (i) to evaluate the prevalence of venous thromboembolism VTE in patients presenting with both MDS/CMML and SIADs, (ii) to describe risk factors associated with thrombosis, and (iii) to analyse the impact of VTE on overall survival and transformation to acute myeloid leukaemia in comparison to patients with MDS/CMML-associated SIADs without VTE.
Methods: This retrospective multicentre case-control study was conducted among patients with MDS/CMML and dysimmune disorders and featured in the French retrospective database of the French Network of Dysimmune Disorders Associated with Hemopathies (MINHEMON), diagnosed with MDS/CMML and dysimmune disorders.
Results: During a median follow-up of 16 months (5-48) VTE occurred in 35 patients (21.6 %) whereas 127 patients did not. Among those with VTE, 8 patients (22.9%) experienced two or more VTE. Common prothrombotic risk factors were not significantly different in patients with or without VTE. CMML was more frequent in patients without VTE (37 % vs. 14.3%, p=0.01), whereas myelodysplasic/myeloproliferative neoplasm (MDS/MPN) was higher in VTE patients (20 % vs. 5.5 %, p=0.01). In a multivariate analysis, only MDS/CMML progression at the time of VTE (odds ratio 28.82, 95 % CI (5.52-530.70) was significantly associated with VTE. When treated with an anticoagulation therapy, bleeding occurred in 19.4% of cases (6/31). Overall survival was not significantly different between patients with and without VTE (p=0.68). Leukaemia-free survival between groups was not significantly different (p=0.83).
Conclusions: VTE is a common complication in MDS/CMML-associated SIADSs with an increased risk of bleeding when treated by anticoagulants. In the MDS/CMML subgroup, SIADS flares and MDS/CMML progression seem to be prothrombotic risk factors.