Dr. Mesa on the Utility of Fedratinib for Patients With Myelofibrosis Who Progress on Ruxolitinib

Ruben Mesa, MD, the director of the Mays Cancer Center at UT Health San Antonio MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses the utility of fedratinib (Inrebic) for patients with myelofibrosis who progress on first-line ruxolitinib (Jakafi).

Typically, patients receive ruxolitinib as frontline therapy, says Mesa. If progress on ruxolitinib, fedratinib can be used as second-line treatment.

Findings from the phase III JAKARTA and phase II JAKARTA-2 trials demonstrated a significant reduction in splenomegaly and symptom burden in patients with myelofibrosis. In August 2019, fedratinib was approved for the treatment of patients with intermediate-2 or high-risk primary or secondary myelofibrosis.

Updated findings from the JAKARTA-2 trial confirmed the reduction in splenomegaly and symptom burden in about one-third of patients with myelofibrosis who met stringent criteria for ruxolitinib resistance or intolerance, Mesa concludes.