Dr. Masarova on the Safety of JAK Inhibitor/Targeted Therapy Combos in Myelofibrosis

Lucia Masarova, MD, an assistant professor in the Department of Leukemia in the Division of Cancer Medicine at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses the toxicities associated with the combination of JAK inhibitors and other targeted therapies in patients with myelofibrosis.

The main challenge with combining targeted therapies with JAK inhibitors in myelofibrosis are the toxicities, says Masarova. Toxicities are a concern, especially with regard to myelosuppression. It can be difficult to understand the reason why some patients lose response or achieve suboptimal response; it could be because the ruxolitinib (Jakafi) has failed or because another agent has been added, explains Masarova.

The toxicities with these combinations have been as expected, despite concerns regarding thrombocytopenia when agents like navitoclax are added to ruxolitinib. However, this toxicity has been found to be well managed, concludes Masarova.