MPNs

Stephen Oh, MD, PhD, discusses the use of ruxolitinib in patients with myelofibrosis and PV, and emerging agents and next steps in the field of MPNs.

Patients with hydroxyurea resistant/intolerant polycythemia vera without palpable splenomegaly who were treated with ruxolitinib experienced a 3-fold increase in the likelihood of achieving hematocrit control over patients treated with physician’s-choice therapy, with a majority of those patients maintaining their response at 80 weeks, according to findings of a phase III prospective trial.

Harry P. Erba, MD, PhD, recently talked about the treatment considerations and decisions he makes when treating patients with primary myelofibrosis and polycythemia vera. Erba explained his treatment decisions for patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms based on 2 case scenarios to a group during a <em>Targeted Oncology </em>live case-based peer perspectives presentation.

Srdan Verstovsek, MD, PhD,&nbsp;discusses the second-line use of ruxolitinib in patients with in PV and additional benefits with the agent as more data become available.

Beginning ruxolitinib (Jakafi) therapy at lower doses may limit the anemia frequently seen early in treatment in patients with myelofibrosis while still providing clinical benefits like improvements in splenomegaly, according to the results of a 24-week open-label phase II dose escalation study.

Laura Michaelis, MD, discusses how to select patients with either polycythemia vera or essential thrombocythemia for cytoreductive therapy.

Srdan Verstovsek, MD, PhD, discusses how to control symptoms while using hypomethylating agents in patients with myelofibrosis.

Robyn M. Scherber, MD, MPH, discusses the prevalence of ruxolitinib failure and how it can be managed in patients with MF. She also highlights combinations and other treatment regimens currently under investigation for this patient population.

Abdulraheem Yacoub, MD,&nbsp;discusses how to manage patients with polycythemia vera after failure on hydroxyurea and some of the upcoming treatment options for this patient population on the horizon.

Vivian G. Oehler, MD, discusses the diagnosis, risk prognostication, and therapeutic strategies for&nbsp;myeloproliferative neoplasms.

Triple-negative myelofibrosis makes up 10% to 15% of patients with myelofibrosis, but it is associated with higher rates of leukemic transformation and poorer survival. Investigators at the University of Michigan set out to better understand the disease and found that the clinical, cytogenetic, and molecular features of triple-negative myelofibrosis were heterogeneous.

Srdan Verstovsek, MD, PhD, professor in the Department of Leukemia and director of the Hanns A. Pielenz Clinical Research Center for Myeloproliferative Neoplasms at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses the importance of intervention in chronic phase myelofibrosis.<br /> &nbsp;

Laura Michaelis, MD, associate professor of medicine, Medical College of Wisconsin, discusses thrombotic risk for patients with essential thrombocythemia and polycythemia vera.

Abdulraheem Yacoub, MD, associate professor of Hematology at the University of Kansas Cancer Center, discusses treatment beyond hydroxyurea in patients with polycythemia vera.<br /> &nbsp;

Hydroxyurea has been the primary treatment for polycythemia vera for decades and it works for the majority of patients, said Abdulraheem Yacoub, MD. However, there is a subset of patients who develop resistance or intolerance to hydroxyurea, and investigators are working to find a solution for those patients.

Ruxolitinib (Jakafi) is the only FDA-approved agent for the treatment of patients with myelofibrosis, making resistance to this agent a particularly difficult treatment challenge. Combinations with ruxolitinib may reinvigorate the impact of the JAK inhibitor in relapsed, progressive, or intolerant patients, explained Robyn M. Scherber, MD, MPH, in a presentation at the 2018 SOHO Annual Meeting.

Robyn M. Scherber, MD, MPH, physician, The Mays Cancer Center, the newly named center of UT Health San Antonio MD Anderson Cancer Center, addresses the management of patients with myelofibrosis after failure on ruxolitinib (Jakafi).<br /> &nbsp;

The Clinical Management of Primary Myelofibrosis