Predicted costs of iron‐chelators in myelodysplastic syndromes: A 10‐year analysis based on actual prevalence and red cell transfusion rates

Consideration of iron‐chelation (IC) in transfusion‐dependent patients is recommended in most clinical‐practice guidelines on myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). The financial impact of IC on health‐care systems is predicted through economic modeling, but an analysis based on actual prevalence is lacking. Here, we have investigated the potential drug‐costs and need for IC in a cohort of 189 United Kingdom‐based MDS patients diagnosed from 2000 to 2010. Patients with low or intermediate‐1 IPSS scores were identified as eligible for IC if ≥24 red cell units (RCU) had been transfused over 12 consecutive months or the transfusion‐intensity averaged ≥2 RCU per month. Drug‐costs were calculated from the time patients qualified for IC until death or last follow‐up. In 159 patients with low/intermediate‐1 MDS, survival was superior with a low IPSS score (P = 0.014), age