CML-specific app scores low on uptake, awareness among patients

Patients with chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) appear to be unaware or have low acceptance of a healthcare app specifically develop to manage their disease, reports a study.

“Importantly, we have also demonstrated a clear interest in CML-specific apps among this population, as well as evidence in terms of a functionality ‘wish-list’ that the current available app technologies designed for CML patients do not appear to fully meet their needs,” said the investigators.

“Based on the functionality that study participants were most interested in, we will work with healthcare professionals, app developers, and patients to develop a new app to deliver holistic support to CML patients,” they added.

This study examined the current and future role of apps as a means to support patients with CML. The investigators developed a 31-item questionnaire and distributed this to patients through three online CML support groups.

A total of 286 patients (2:1 female-male ratio) responded to the questionnaire, of which 155 (54 percent) resided in the UK. The majority of respondents (n=260, 91 percent) were on drug treatment for their CML. [J Oncol Pharm Pract 2023;doi:10.1177/10781552221090904]

Of the respondents, 67 (23.4 percent) were aware that apps were available to support clinical management of CML, and 33 (11.5 percent) had experience of using this app. On the other hand, 238 (94.1 percent) of those who had not used a patient-support app said that they would consider using one in the future to help manage their disease.

Male patients showed a significantly greater app awareness than their female counterparts (30.3 percent vs 19.9 percent). Younger patients were more likely to be a current or previous app user (16.3 percent for <55 years old vs 5.6 percent for ≥55 years old). In addition, younger patients and those with a more recent CML diagnosis were more likely to show interest in using an app in the future.

Drug interaction

“When asked about potential app functionality, a drug interaction checker was the feature of greatest interest to respondents,” according to the investigators. All respondents expressed interest in this feature, with 92.6 percent stating that they were “very interested,” while the remaining 7.4 percent were “somewhat interested.”

An earlier study had identified a drug interaction checker as a highly desirable app function, but a review of 424 health apps showed that only 2.8 percent included this feature. [J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2015;70:989-995; J Am Med Inform Assoc 2014;21:542-546]

“Given that all the common tyrosine kinase inhibitors used to treat CML (ie, imatinib, dasatinib, nilotinib, bosutinib, and ponatinib) are metabolized by the cytochrome P450 system of liver enzymes, clinically significant drug interaction with these agents are a well-recognized concern,” the investigators said. [Ann Hematol 2018;97:2089-2098; Medicine 2016;95:5076; Eur J Hosp Pharm 2019;26(Suppl 1):119]

“[I]t is therefore particularly important that patients are equipped with tools to help them in this area,” they added.