Treatment patterns and outcomes in light chain amyloidosis: An institutional registry of amyloidosis report in Argentina

Light chain (AL) amyloidosis is a form of systemic amyloidosis, causing organ dysfunction, mainly affecting the heart and kidney. Patient-tailored and risk-adapted decision making is critical in AL amyloidosis management. There is limited real-world evidence data from Argentina and Latin America regarding the treatment approaches for AL amyloidosis. This retrospective cohort study aimed to describe the treatment patterns and outcomes in adult patients (>18 years) diagnosed with AL amyloidosis at the Hospital Italiano in Buenos Aires, Argentina, using a 10-yearfollow-up data (June 1, 2010 to May 31, 2019) from the institutional registry of amyloidosis (IRA). The study population had a mean age of 63 years and 54.4% weremale. Heart and kidney were the most frequently affected organs. Of the 90 eligible patients included in the study, 70underwent treatment. Bortezomib-based regimen was the preferred first-line treatment (75.7% patients). Overall,54.4% of the patients presented a deep response (complete or very good partial response). Median overall survival (OS) was 5years, the 1-year OS and progression free survival rates were 80% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 68–87) and 80% (95%CI 68–87)), respectively. This study provides vital real-world evidence for the long-term treatment patterns and survival in a large cohort of AL amyloidosis patients in Argentina.

Transdisciplinarity in the approach to amyloidosis

The increasing complexity in the approach to diseases challenges the development of a new paradigm of care that crosses disciplinary limits, where professionals from different disciplines approach a problem applying their expertise, respecting the knowledge of the other and contributing to the global view of the problem. Amyloidoses are rare diseases. The diagnosis is based on the biopsy of those organs in which amyloid infiltration is suspected. There is an increased risk of bleeding associated with these procedures. Therefore, the availability of obtaining samples from certain sites with less invasive accesses, such as the minor salivary glands (GSM), represent an alternative. Objectives: Describe the experiences of GSM biopsies as a diagnostic tool in the detection of amyloidosis and its intra and postoperative complications. - Estimate the diagnostic performance. The design is a cross-sectional cohort. All patients with a suspected diagnosis of amyloidosis were consecutively included, between August 2018-September 2020. Results: 23 biopsies were performed with minimally invasive procedures. 60.86% were male and the average age was 66 years. The prevalence of amyloidosis was 33%. The sensitivity was 55% and the specificity 100%. One patient had more bleeding than usual during the procedure and none had postoperative complications. Conclusions: GSM biopsy experiences were described as a diagnostic tool for amyloidosis, reporting a slight intraoperative complication and no postoperative complication. The test achieved a sensitivity of 55% and a specificity of 100%.