Diagnosis and treatment understanding of Waldenström macroglobulinemia in China: a cross-sectional study

• Published in: Zhōnghuá xuèyèxué zázhì Vol. 45; no. 2; pp. 148 - 155
• Main Authors: Yi, S H, Xiong, W J, Cao, X X, Sun, C Y, Du, J, Wang, H H, Wang, L, Niu, T, Jiang, Z X, Wei, Y Q, Xue, H, Chu, H L, Qiu, L G, Li, J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Chinese
• Published: China 14-02-2024
• Subjects: Physician survey; Cross-sectional study; Waldenström macroglobulinemia; Diagnosis and treatment understanding
• ISSN: 0253-2727
• DOI: 10.3760/cma.j.cn121090-20231017-00212

To conduct a nationwide physician survey to better understand clinicians' disease awareness, treatment patterns, and experience of Waldenström macroglobulinemia (WM) in China.
This cross-sectional study was conducted from February 2022 to July 2022 by recruiting clinicians with WM treatment experience from hematology, hematology-oncology, and oncology departments throughout China. Quantitative surveys were designed based on the qualitative interviews.
The study included 415 clinicians from 219 hospitals spread across thirty-three cities and twenty-two provinces. As for diagnosis, the laboratory tests prescribed by physicians for suspected WM patients were relatively consistent (92% -99% recommendation for laboratory, 79% -95% recommendation for pathology, 96% recommendation for gene testing, and 63% -83% recommendation for imaging examination). However, from a physician's perspective, there was 22% misdiagnosis occurred in clinical practice. The rate of misdiagnosis was higher in lower-level hospitals than in