Dr. Verstovsek on Real-World Survival Data With Ruxolitinib in Myelofibrosis

Srdan Verstovsek, MD, PhD, the United Energy Resources, Inc. Professor of Medicine, director of the Hanns A. Pielenz Clinical Research Center for Myeloproliferative Neoplasms​, and chief of the Section for Myeloproliferative Neoplasms in the Department of Leukemia of the Division of Cancer Medicine at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses real-world survival data with ruxolitinib (Jakafi) in myelofibrosis.

During the 2020 ASH Annual Meeting and Exposition, findings from a real-world analysis of the United States experience with ruxolitinib in patients with intermediate- or high-risk myelofibrosis were presented virtually. Although ruxolitinib is established as a treatment to control symptoms associated with myelofibrosis, the COMFORT studies for which the JAK inhibitor was approved based on were not powered to determine whether ruxolitinib conferred any survival advantage for this patient population, Verstovsek explains.

As such, findings from the post-hoc analysis demonstrated a 1-year overall survival benefit in patients diagnosed with myelofibrosis after the FDA approval of ruxolitinib compared with those who were diagnosed before the approval. Patients receiving ruxolitinib have also demonstrated good weight gain, increased mobility, improved albumin and cholesterol levels, organ and kidney function improvement, less inflammation, and reduced splenomegaly, concludes Verstovsek.