Developing Therapeutic Strategies for Treating Accelerated and Blastic Phase MPN

Srdan Verstovsek, MD, PhD, medical oncologist, and professor, Department of Leukemia, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, shares his take home message from his presentation on accelerated and blastic phase myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) during the first Annual Texas MPM Workshop.

The main development in the field has been the new treatment strategies in this patient population of accelerated and blastic MPNs where we now have the ability to use medications in different ways for different clinical situations, says Verstovsek. Understanding the genetic complexity of disease, patterns of development or disease progression to accelerated and blastic phase, and timely interventions are all important for the primary intervention with new medications in combinations to get patients to respond.

Verstovsek says he is happy to have been able to project this message to the public and peers at this year’s meeting to demonstrate the significant progress that has been made in the field. Only 5 years ago, he believes he would not have been able to give a presentation on this topic due to a lack of knowledge, so being able to say something that not only makes sense but impacts patient and provider decisions for treatment is an incredible development on its own for the field.

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