Patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) may be more susceptible to Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) due to age, disease, and treatment-related immunosuppression. We aimed to assess risk factors of outcome and elucidate the impact of CLL-directed treatments on the course of COVID-19. We conducted a retrospective, international study, collectively including 941 patients with CLL and confirmed COVID-19. Data from the beginning of the pandemic until March 16, 2021, were collected from 91 centers. The risk factors of case fatality rate (CFR), disease severity, and overall survival (OS) were investigated. OS analysis was restricted to patients with severe COVID-19 (definition: hospitalization with need of oxygen or admission into an intensive care unit). CFR in patients with severe COVID-19 was 38.4%. OS was inferior for patients in all treatment categories compared to untreated (p < 0.001). Untreated patients had a lower risk of death (HR = 0.54, 95% CI:0.41–0.72). The risk of death was higher for older patients and those suffering from cardiac failure (HR = 1.03, 95% CI:1.02–1.04; HR = 1.79, 95% CI:1.04–3.07, respectively). Age, CLL-directed treatment, and cardiac failure were significant risk factors of OS. Untreated patients had a better chance of survival than those on treatment or recently treated.

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Patient Survey (GPS) on Lymphomas and CLL to describe the global differences in patients' information experiences at diagnosis, as well as to compare the areas of need for more information. Methods: Globally, 9,179 patients with lymphoma or CLL from 89 countries took part in the LC 2020 GPS. The countries were grouped into regions, and regions with greater than 200 patient respondents were included in the analysis. The five regions analysed were Asia (AS) (n = 2326), Oceania (OC) (n = 695), Europe (EU)(n = 4343), North America (NA) (n = 1543), and South America (SA) (n = 214).Descriptive analyses of questions relating to patients' information experiences at diagnoses and areas in which they needed more information were performed in IBM SPSS v27.Results: All the regions differed significantly (p < 0.05) in the demographic categories of age, sex, education level, and household status.When asked which time point patients had the greatest need for information, over half of patients in all the regions reported the time point as 'within the first month following diagnosis' (AS-62%, OC-58%, EU-57%, NA-53% and SA-59%) (Table 1).Relating to how patients felt about the amount of information they were given upon diagnosis with lymphoma, patients from AS were the most prevalent in reporting they were not given enough information (55%) followed by patients from NA (36%). Additionally, only 30% of patients from AS reported receiving the right amount of information, while 60% and more, of patients from NA, EU, SA, and OC reported the same (60%, 67%, 71% and 70% respectively) (Table 1).When asked about the specific areas patients needed more information in, the most commonly reported areas in all the regions were 'treatment options' (AS-76%, OC-44%, EU-50%, NA-61% and SA-40%), 'diagnosis and what it means' (AS-58%, OC-45%, EU-56%, NA-51% and SA-38%), and 'treatment side-effects' (AS-61%, OC-44%, EU-45%, NA-38% and SA-41%). Patients also reported needing information on 'support for self care', 'psychological support', 'support for their families', and 'fertility' (Table 1). Only 2% of patients from AS reported not needing any additional information compared to the other regions (OC-19%, EU-11%, NA-16% and SA-18%) (Table 1). Conclusion:Access to timely and credible medical information remains an essential aspect of a successful patient experience and this study shows that patients with lymphoma have diverse information experiences and needs. It is therefore important that doctors provide information that address(es) each patient's unique information needs.In the future, LC would like to explore how demographic differences may have confounded results.