Associations between quality of life, fatigue, and cytokine levels in patients aged 50+ with acute myeloid leukemia

Goals of work: Quality of life (QOL) is significantly impaired in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), and fatigue is the most common and disabling symptom; effective treatment measures have yet to be found. Cytokines, biomarkers of inflammation, may moderate both health outcomes, but published data are limited. We looked at the role of cytokines in modulating QOL and fatigue in an older AML population. Patients and methods: We recruited 34 English-speaking patients (23 men, 11 women) aged 50 or older with AML within 1 year of diagnosis. QOL and fatigue were assessed with validated questionnaires. Blood was simultaneously drawn for quantitative measurement of a 13-cytokine panel. Repeat measurements were done 4-6 weeks later (n∈=∈28 patients). Spearman correlations between health measures and cytokine levels were examined at baseline, as were changes in variables between time points. A potentially clinically important correlation was defined as an r∈≥∈0.30. Results: At baseline, potentially clinically important correlations were noted between global QOL and interferon (IFN)-γ (r∈=∈-0.376, p∈=∈0.031), interleukin (IL)-2 (r∈=∈-0.340, p∈=∈0.053), IL-5 (r∈=∈-0.368, p∈=∈0.035), IL-8 (r∈=∈-0.312, p∈=∈0.077), and TNF-α (r∈=∈-0.326, p∈=∈0.064). A similar correlation was observed between IL-6 and fatigue (r∈=∈0.332, p∈=∈0.059) . Between time points, there were no potentially important correlations between changes in global QOL and any cytokine. However, potentially important correlations with fatigue were seen with both IL-5 (r∈=∈0.344, p∈=∈0.073) and IL-10 (r∈=∈0.326, p∈=∈0.091) between time points. Conclusions: These preliminary data provide support for a larger controlled study of cytokines, fatigue, and QOL in patients with AML.