Dr. Bose on the Utility of Ruxolitinib in Myelofibrosis

Prithviraj Bose, MD, associate professor, Department of Leukemia, Division of Cancer Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses the utility of ruxolitinib (Jakafi) in patients with myelofibrosis.

Ruxolitinib is a JAK1/2 inhibitor that has been around for close to 9 years, says Bose. It is a good drug for reducing splenomegaly and improving symptoms. The drug leads to improved quality of life (QOL) for patients with myelofibrosis and MPNs. Additionally, long-term follow-up from the COMFORT trials show that there is a survival benefit with ruxolitinib which is thought to be an indirect result of improved QOL, says Bose.

However, one of the drawbacks of ruxolitinib is that the agent can lead to a drop in hemoglobin and platelet counts within the first 12 to 24 weeks of treatment, leading to treatment discontinuation in some cases, concludes Bose.