In chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML), 20–25% of patients switch medications due to bothersome side effects. Until now, there has been no reliable questionnaire to properly identify these complaints. Together with 300 patients and healthcare providers, a new, validated and practical questionnaire has therefore been developed. Patients appreciate the filter questions, which also make a short version available. Notably, sexual complaints were common and severe, even though this theme is missing from existing lists. It also turned out that for a third of the symptoms, the severity differs between the most commonly used medications – sometimes by up to 30%. These insights help patients and doctors choose an alternative medication when switching is necessary. Haematologists expect that monitoring with this questionnaire will ensure that patient experiences are better taken into account in guidelines. In addition, they identified 14 knowledge gaps regarding side effect symptoms, which may contribute to improving the current CML guideline.
On Friday, March 13, 2026, at 12:30 p.m., Yolba Smit will defend her dissertation entitled “Modernizing toxicity monitoring in chronic myeloid leukemia.”
The supervisors are Prof. N.M.A. Blijlevens, Prof. A.L.A.J. Dekker (Maastricht UMC), and Prof. R.P.M.G. Hermens.
Yolba Smit trained as a physician and epidemiologist, specialising in evidence-based medicine and guideline development. She has contributed to more than twenty national and international projects and has been a researcher and project leader at Haematology, Radboudumc since 2016. In her PhD research, she developed methods to make better use of patient reports of side effects in chronic myeloid leukaemia in healthcare and in the drafting of guidelines.
The defense can be followed via this live stream.