Dr. DeAngelo on the Utility of Pevonedistat in MDS

Daniel J. DeAngelo, MD, PhD, institute physician, chief, Division of Leukemia, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, professor of medicine, Harvard Medical School, discusses the utility of the investigational agent pevonedistat in myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS).

Pevonedistat is a novel inhibitor of the NEDD8-activating enzyme that has been under evaluation for some time, says DeAngelo.

The agent may offer an alternative treatment to proteasome inhibitors with a similar dosing schedule, explains DeAngelo.

Notably, pevonedistat given as monotherapy is associated with limited toxicity, which lends itself to combination therapies, DeAngelo says. The toxicities that are associated with the agent are similar to those observed with hypomethylating agents (HMAs). 

Additionally, the agent appears to augment the activity of HMAs without increasing toxicity, concludes DeAngelo.