%0 Journal Article
%T Prognostic impact of chronic lymphocytic leukemia comorbidity index in a young population: a real-world evidence study of a national gulf region cohort.
%A Alshemmari SH
%A AlSarraf A
%A Kaempf A
%A Danilov AV
%J BMC Cancer
%V 24
%N 1
%D 2024 May 13
%M 38741031
%F 4.638
%R 10.1186/s12885-024-12343-1
%X In chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL), comorbidities assessed by the CLL comorbidity index (CLL-CI) have been associated with outcomes in Western cohorts. We conducted a retrospective analysis of an unselected Middle Eastern cohort of newly diagnosed CLL patients seen at the Kuwait Cancer Control Center (n = 300). Compared to Western studies, these Middle Eastern patients were diagnosed at a younger age (median of 59) and had a higher comorbidity burden (69% non-low risk CLL-CI). A higher CLL-CI score was independently associated with significantly shorter event-free survival and greater risk of death. Our analysis demonstrates that CLL-CI is a valuable tool for comorbidity assessment and prognostic influence in (relatively young) Middle Eastern CLL patients.