Dr. Rampal on Tools to Estimate Prognosis in Myelofibrosis

Raajit K. Rampal, MD, PhD, a hematologic oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses available tools to estimate prognosis in myelofibrosis.

The field has to be careful with regard to prognostication, says Rampal. Prognostication may depend on the specific allele burden or other co-mutations; however, tools are available to help address these challenges. One tool is called the Mutation-Enhanced International Prognostic Scoring System 70+ v2.0, which is for primary myelofibrosis; this is a calculator. Clinical variables and mutations are inputted into the tool, which will then compute the patient’s overall survival at 5 or 10 years.

Other scoring systems exist, such as the Genetically Inspired Prognostic Scoring System, which is also a genetic prognostic scoring tool. The MYSEC Prognostic Model Risk Calculator is another tool for secondary myelofibrosis. The field has interesting tools that can be used in clinical practice that utilize genomics, according to Rampal. Another scoring system can be used for transplant; it predicts how well a patient is likely to do with transplant based on their mutations, explains Rampal.

The 2 major points are that mutation profiles have a clear clinical impact in terms of prognostication, as well as clinical practice in terms of which patients are at a higher risk. These prognostications have implications for how patients with myelofibrosis are treated, concludes Rampal.