Patient demographics
The charts of 162 patients were reviewed, all of whom had a genetically confirmed TTR variant. The most common mutations amongst the entire cohort were V1221 (86 patients), T60A (31 patients), and V30M (17 patients) (Table 1). Of the 162 patients included in the initial chart review, 119 were symptomatic from ATTRv. The median age of symptomatic patients at diagnosis was 70 years (IQR 62–75) compared to 52.5 years (IQR 43–57) for the asymptomatic group. A larger portion of symptomatic patients were male compared to the asymptomatic group (68.9% vs 34.9%).
Table 1 Characteristics of all patients with ATTRv (n = 162)
Characteristic
|
Total
(N = 162)
|
Symptomatic
(N = 119)
|
Asymptomatic
(N = 43)
|
Median age at diagnosis, years (IQR)
|
65 (55-74)
|
70 (62-75)
|
52.5 (43-57)
|
Male sex, n (%)
|
97 (59.9)
|
82 (68.9)
|
15 (34.9)
|
TTR genotype, n (%)
|
|
|
|
V122I
|
86 (53.1)
|
68 (57.1)
|
18 (41.9)
|
T60A
|
31 (19.1)
|
20 (16.8)
|
11 (25.6)
|
V30M
|
17 (10.5)
|
11 (9.2)
|
6 (13.9)
|
Phe64
|
12 (7.4)
|
8 (6.7)
|
4 (9.3)
|
Others
|
16 (9.9)
|
12 (10.0)
|
4 (9.3)
|
Abbreviations: N or n, total number; IQR, interquartile range; %, percentage.
Characteristics of symptomatic patients
Among the 119 symptomatic patients studied, the median time to diagnosis after symptom onset for patients was 3 years (IQR 1-8 years) (Table 2). 103 patients (86.5%) were treated with specific ATTR medications. Sixteen patients were not treated. Of these, eight were lost to follow-up, 3 had advanced disease or died before initiation of treatment, and 5 were pending initiation of treatment. The median age of patients who were treated was 71 years (IQR 63-75 years). The median age of patients who were not treated was 59 years (IQR 54-73). The most common symptoms at onset of disease were: carpal tunnel syndrome (44 patients, 37%), heart failure (36 patients, 30.1%), and peripheral neuropathy (20 patients, 16.8%). Twenty seven (22.7%) patients had co-existing diabetes (Table 2).
Table 2: Characteristics of all symptomatic patients by treatment status (n=119)
Characteristic
|
Symptomatic
(N = 119)
|
Treated
(N = 103)
|
Not treated
(N= 16)
|
Median age at symptom onset, years (IQR)
|
64 (56-72)
|
66 (57-73)
|
54 (48-63)
|
Median age at diagnosis, years (IQR)
|
70 (62-75)
|
71 (63-75)
|
59 (54-73)
|
Median diagnosis delay, years (IQR)
|
3 (1-8)
|
3 (1-8)
|
4 (1-13)
|
Male sex, n (%)
|
82 (68.9)
|
70 (68.0)
|
12 (75.0)
|
Alcohol use disorder, n (%)
|
7 (5.9)
|
5 (4.8)
|
2 (12.5)
|
Diabetes, n (%)
|
27 (22.7)
|
22 (21.3)
|
5 (31.2)
|
TTR genotype, n (%)
|
|
|
|
V122I
|
68 (57.1)
|
56 (53.4)
|
12 (75.0)
|
T60A
|
20 (16.8)
|
19 (18.4)
|
1 (6.3)
|
V30M
|
11 (9.2)
|
11 (10.7)
|
0 (0)
|
Phe64
|
8 (6.7)
|
8 (7.8)
|
0 (0)
|
Others
|
12 (10.0)
|
9 (8.7)
|
3 (18.7)
|
Abbreviations: N or n, total number; IQR, interquartile range; %, percentage.
Of the symptomatic patients, 47 had cardiac symptoms only, 13 had neurological symptoms only, and 59 patients had both cardiac and neurological symptoms (mixed symptomatology) (Table 3). Patients with isolated neurological symptoms were younger at the time of diagnosis compared with those with cardiac symptoms (isolated or mixed), with median ages of 52 years, 74 years, and 67 years, respectively. Most patients with isolated cardiac symptoms carried the V122I mutations (42 patients, 89.4%) (Table 3).
Table 3: Characteristics of symptomatic patients by symptom type (n=119)
Characteristic
|
Symptomatic
(N = 119)
|
Both
(N=59)
|
Cardiac only
(N = 47)
|
Neuro only
(N=13)
|
Median age at symptom onset, years (IQR)
|
64 (56-72)
|
62 (56-68)
|
70 (65-74)
|
50 (44-56)
|
Median age at diagnosis, years (IQR)
|
70 (62-75)
|
67 (62-74)
|
74 (71-78)
|
52 (47-58)
|
Median diagnosis delay, years (IQR)
|
3 (1-8)
|
3 (1-7)
|
3 (1-9)
|
1 (0-5)
|
Male sex, n (%)
|
82 (68.9)
|
46 (78.0)
|
32 (68.1)
|
4 (30.1)
|
Alcohol use disorder, n (%)
|
7 (5.9)
|
4 (6.8)
|
2 (4.2)
|
1 (7.7)
|
Diabetes, n (%)
|
27 (22.7)
|
14 (23.7)
|
12 (25.5)
|
1 (8.3)
|
TTR genotype, n (%)
|
|
|
|
|
V122I
|
68 (57.1)
|
23 (39.0)
|
42 (89.4)
|
3 (23.1)
|
T60A
|
20 (16.8)
|
16 (27.1)
|
2 (4.3)
|
3 (23.1)
|
V30M
|
11 (9.2)
|
7 (11.8)
|
1 (2.1)
|
2 (15.4)
|
Phe64
|
8 (6.7)
|
5 (8.5)
|
0 (0)
|
3 (23.1)
|
Others
|
12 (10.0)
|
8 (13.5)
|
2 (4.2)
|
2 (15.4)
|
First symptom at onset, n (%)
|
|
|
|
|
Carpal tunnel syndrome
|
44 (37.0)
|
19 (32.2)
|
21 (44.7)
|
4 (30.8)
|
Heart failure
|
36 (30.1)
|
15 (25.4)
|
21 (44.7)
|
0 (0.0)
|
Arrhythmia
|
12 (10.1)
|
7 (11.9)
|
5 (10.6)
|
0 (0.0)
|
Neuropathy, somatic
|
20 (16.8)
|
14 (23.7)
|
0 (0.0)
|
6 (46.1)
|
Neuropathy, autonomic
|
6 (5.0)
|
4 (6.8)
|
0 (0.0)
|
2 (15.4)
|
Treated, n (%)
|
103 (86.5)
|
53 (89.8)
|
41 (87.2)
|
9 (69.2)
|
Treatment type, n (%)
|
|
|
|
|
Combination therapy
|
38 (36.9)
|
34 (64.1)
|
0 (0)
|
4 (44.4)
|
Monotherapy
|
65 (63.1)
|
19 (35.8)
|
41 (100)
|
4 (44.4)
|
Drug, n (%)
|
|
|
|
|
Tafamidis monotherapy
|
54 (52.4)
|
13 (24.5)
|
41 (100)
|
0 (0)
|
Diflunisal monotherapy
|
5 (4.6)
|
1 (1.9)
|
0 (0)
|
4 (44.4)
|
Patisiran monotherapy
|
4 (3.9)
|
4 (7.5)
|
0 (0)
|
0 (0)
|
Inotersen monotherapy
|
2 (1.9)
|
1 (1.9)
|
0 (0)
|
1 (7.7)
|
Tafamidis and Patisiran
|
19 (18.4)
|
19 (35.8)
|
0 (0)
|
0 (0)
|
Tafamidis and Inotersen
|
3 (2.9)
|
3 (5.7)
|
0 (0)
|
0 (0)
|
Tafamidis and Vutisiran
|
2 (1.9)
|
2 (3.8)
|
0 (0)
|
0 (0)
|
Diflunisal and Patisiran
|
11 (10.7)
|
8 (15.1)
|
0 (0)
|
3 (33.3)
|
Diflunisal and Inotersen
|
3 (2.9)
|
2 (3.8)
|
0 (0)
|
1 (7.7)
|
Abbreviations: N or n, total number; IQR, interquartile range; %, percentage.
Patient characteristics based on treatment type
Of the 103 patients who received treatment for ATTRv, 65 (63%) were maintained on monotherapy with either a stabilizer (Tafamidis, Diflunisal) or silencer (Inotersen, Patisiran, Vutrisiran). Thirty eight (37%) patients were treated with combination therapy with both a silencer and stabilizer. Amongst the 59 patients with both cardiac and neurological symptoms, 34 (64.1%) were treated with combination therapy (Figure 1). The most common combinations amongst patients with both cardiac and neurological symptoms were Tafamidis plus Patisiran (19 patients, 35.8%), and Diflunisal plus Patisiran (8 patients, 15.1%); the other 7 patients were on a combination of either Inotersen or Vutrisiran with Tafamidis or Diflunisal. The remaining 4 patients treated with combination therapy had only neurological symptoms. These patients were all on a combination of Diflunisal plus a silencer. Nineteen patients had both cardiac and neurological symptoms and were technically eligible for combination therapy but were only on monotherapy. The most common reasons for not being on combination therapy in this group were: loss of neurologic follow-up (5 patients), alternative causes of neuropathy such as diabetes or chemotherapy (4 patients), and therapy side effects (4 patients). In the latter group, two were started on Diflunisal but it was stopped due to nausea and bruising, respectively. One patient developed thrombocytopenia with Inotersen, and another developed worsening hypertension with Tafamidis. Of the patients with neuropathy, 4 were not on a silencer because of mild neurological symptoms not proven to be due to amyloid deposition (negative or pending biopsies). The median time patients were on monotherapy at the time of data extraction was 38 months (IQR 20-45), and the median time for combination therapy was 27 months (IQR 15-52)
(Figure 1).
The characteristics for all patients with cardiomyopathy are displayed in Table 4. Those on combination therapy were younger at initiation of treatment than those on monotherapy, with a median age of 67 years (IQR 60-72) compared to 75 years (IQR 72-78). They also had a lower median age at symptom onset (60 years vs 69 years respectively, p<0.05) and at diagnosis (66 years vs 74 years respectively, p<0.05). Patients on monotherapy were more likely to carry the V122I variant than those on combination therapy (78.3% vs 23.5%). There was no difference between patients on combination therapy versus patients on monotherapy in terms of the gender, and the concurrent presence of diabetes or alcohol use disorder.
Table 4: Characteristics of patients with any cardiac symptoms based on treatment type (n=94)
Characteristic
|
Monotherapy
(N = 60)
|
Combination
(N = 34)
|
p-values
|
Median age at start of treatment, years (IQR)
|
75 (72-78)
|
67 (60-72)
|
< 0.001
|
Median age symptom onset, years (IQR)
|
69 (63-73)
|
60 (51-67)
|
< 0.001
|
Median age at diagnosis, years (IQR)
|
74 (70-77)
|
66 (61-70)
|
< 0.001
|
Male sex, n (%)
|
42 (70.0)
|
26 (76.5)
|
0.500
|
Diabetes, n (%)
|
17 (28.3)
|
5 (14.7)
|
0.134
|
Alcohol use disorder, n (%)
|
3 (5.0)
|
1 (2.9)
|
0.635
|
TTR genotype, n (%)
|
|
|
< 0.001
|
V122I
|
47 (78.3)
|
8 (23.5)
|
|
Others
|
13 (21.7)
|
26 (76.5)
|
|
Baseline NYHA*
|
|
|
0.095
|
I
|
9 (19.6)
|
5 (20.8)
|
|
II
|
20 (43.5)
|
15 (62.5)
|
|
III
|
17 (37.0)
|
3 (12.5)
|
|
IV
|
0 (0)
|
1 (1.4)
|
|
Baseline median EF (IQR)**
|
42 (30-52)
|
54 (37-61)
|
0.032
|
Baseline median NT-proBNP (IQR)***
|
2963 (1351-4948)
|
1528 (387-2388)
|
0.078
|
Median follow up, months (IQR)
|
23.6 (15.7-40.0)
|
40.3 (18.7-75.4)
|
0.012
|
Abbreviations: N or n, total number; IQR, interquartile range; %, percentage.
*NYHA only available for 70 patients (25% missing)
**TTE only available for 66 patients (29% missing)
***BNP only available for 57 patients (38% missing)
There was a higher proportion of patients on monotherapy who had a NYHA class of 3 or 4 compared to those on combination therapy (37.0% vs 13.9%), but this difference was not statistically significant (p=0.09). Patients on combination therapy had a higher ejection fraction (54% vs. 42%, p <0.05) and lower NT-proBNP (1528 vs. 2963, p=0.07) before treatment initiation compared to patients on monotherapy. Patients on combination therapy had a longer median follow-up time compared to those on monotherapy (40.3 months vs. 23.6 months, p<0.05).
Association of combination therapy with all-cause mortality and hospitalizations for heart failure
38 patients (46.7%) on monotherapy had one or more hospitalizations for cardiac reasons after treatment initiation compared to 10 patients (29.4%) of the combination group (p=0.26) (Table 5). There were 20 incident deaths during the follow up period, 18 in the monotherapy group and two in the combination therapy group. The crude incidence rate for all-cause mortality per 1000 person-months (PM) was 8.2 (95% CI 5.2-13.1) among patients treated with monotherapy and 1.8 (95% CI 0.4-7.2) among patients treated with combination therapy. The unadjusted Kaplan-Meier survival curve is depicted in Figure 2. After adjustment for age and TTR variant type, the association between combination therapy and all-cause mortality was not statistically significantly different when compared to the monotherapy group (HR 0.37, 95% CI 0.08-1.8, p = 0.217).
Table 5: Hospitalizations for heart failure in patients with cardiomyopathy (n=94)
Outcomes
|
Monotherapy
(N = 60)
|
Combination
(N = 34)
|
p-values
|
Hospitalization, n (%)
|
|
|
0.260
|
0
|
32 (53.3)
|
24 (70.6)
|
|
1
|
19 (31.7)
|
7 (20.6)
|
|
2+
|
9 (15.0)
|
3 (8.8)
|
|
Abbreviations: N or n, total number; IQR, interquartile range; %, percentage.