Dr. Kuykendall on Treatment Considerations with Ruxolitinib in Myelofibrosis

Andrew Kuykendall, MD, assistant member, the Department of Malignant Hematology, Moffitt Cancer Center, discusses treatment considerations with ruxolitinib (Jakafi) in myelofibrosis.

Although a need for more beneficial agents remains in myelofibrosis, clinicians currently have more options to consider when making treatment decisions, Kuykendall says. In the current era of myelofibrosis treatments, some options may be more beneficial for some patients than others, Kuykendall adds.

The RR6 model was created to help clinicians predict which patients treated with ruxolitinib may not benefit in the same way as others, allowing those patients to potentially be selected for a change of therapy or enrollment in a clinical trial, Kuykendall explains.

The key factors the RR6 model looks at include suboptimal ruxolitinib dosing, the need for transfusions, and a suboptimal spleen response, Kuykendall explains. If these characteristics are present, a patient may benefit more from a different therapy, Kuykendall concludes.