Physicians' Behavior, Diagnostics and Treatment Patterns in Multiple Myeloma Management in Belarus: Nation-Wide Survey

Background: Although multiple myeloma (MM) remains an incurable disease, its management progressed during the last decade owing to novelties in diagnostics and new therapeutic options. There is a general belief in heterogeneity of the novel technologies penetration among countries and regions, such differences should be studied. Information on physicians' knowledge, preferences and satisfaction is limited worldwide and may provide important insights for explanation of differences in clinical decision making in routine practice. Moreover, data on typical diagnostic and treatment patterns in real-world clinical setting are particular scarce in the Eastern European and Eurasian region.

Methods: A cross-sectional national survey of physicians treating MM in Belarus was performed from October 2017 till January 2018. Among 51 hematologists registered in the country 43 physicians involved in MM management in real clinical settings were approached. Printed forms of 21-item questionnaire containing multiple choice questions were used. We anonymously collected physicians' opinions on typical diagnostics and treatment patterns as well as their clinical reasoning, preferences and satisfaction. We assessed whether practice place and type, practical experience (length of service and average number of MM patients seen per year) and attitude to participation in clinical trials influence answers. Univariate analysis was conducted with Fisher's exact test.

Results: All approached physicians completed the survey. Among respondents 17 (40%) belonged to republican specialized centers, 37 (86%) were hospital-based physicians, 23 (53%) had more than 10 years of service, 28 (65%) seen more than 20 MM patients per year. 10 (23%) declared their experience in clinical trials and 20 (46%) had no experience but expressed readiness to be involved in.

The clinical uptake of revised ISS for MM was 33%, among adopters physicians with more than 10 years in practice and who sees more than 20 patients per year dominated. The proportions of ISS users which believed that median survival for low-risk, standard-risk and high-risk MM patients to be > 12 months were 100%, 100% and 36%, respectively. For primary MM diagnosis 40% of respondents used MRI and 49% - CT-imaging. Physicians used the next criteria for treatment response : < 5% plasma cells (PCs) in bone marrow (88%), Ig level normalization (74%), absence of clonal PCs in BM (60%), and absence of new lesions (37%).

The possibility to perform autologous stem-cells transplantation (ASCT) was revealed as a key factor for first-line treatment choice. Various bortezomib-based regimens were predominant treatment options for first-line treatment of patients eligible for ASCT. Melphalan-containing regimens were more widely spread as first-line treatment of ASCT-ineligible patients. The majority of respondents (52%) practiced first-line treatment of more than 4 months of duration, while 41% of clinicians used second-line therapy of short duration (less than 6 months). In the relapse setting after ASCT the most common regimens were still bortezomib-based as well as schemes with bendamustine. In the second-line setting in patients who did not receive ASCT monotherapy was more commonly reported.

In absence of high dose dexamethasone for oral use Belarusian physicians preferred treatment schemes with combination of drugs for IV and per os routes of administration. The predominant factors of drug choice were efficacy (91%) and cost (97%). The respondents reported satisfaction with current situation in diagnostics and treatment in 74% and 65% of cases, respectively. The factors influencing readiness for disease management change were clinical experience, hospital-based practice position and positive attitude to/participation in clinical trials.

Conclusions: The study covers the gaps of information about real-world MM management in Belarus. The Belarusian physicians are aware about the modern place of ASCT in MM. Targeted education in specific aspects of MM management (disease biology understanding, clinical guidelines updates, risk evaluation and stratification) may result in wider adoption of innovative diagnostic approaches and treatment technologies. MM management should be further concentrated in large specialized clinical centers for plasma cells disorders. The survey results make possible and warranted further intercountry comparisons.