Investigators Study JAK Inhibitors in Patients With Myelofibrosis

Ruben Mesa, MD, director of Mays Cancer Center, home to UT Health San Antonio MD Anderson, discusses the role of JAK inhibitors, which are currently being investigated in patients with myelofibrosis. He also spoke to what the future of this treatment landscape may be.

Two JAK inhibitors that are in clinical trials at the moment are momelitinib and pacritinib, both of which Mesa believes may become available in the near future. He says that momelitinib may have differentiation around cytopenias and anemia compared to other JAK inhibitors in this setting; pacritinib may be safe for patients with thrombocytopenia. He hopes to see multiple JAK inhibitors available for this patient population in the future so that physicians can tailor their treatment more appropriately in the first- and second-line settings.

If momelitinib and pacritinib are approved, the other agents will have the potential to be used as combination therapy, according to Mesa. Agents such as navitoclax (ABT-263) and luspatercept-aamt (Reblozyl) are options for possible combinations for patients with myelofibrosis, as well as fedratinib (Inrebic) and ruxolitinib (Jakafi), 2 other JAK inhibitors. He believes that optimizing JAK inhibition and complimentary drugs will be something to look forward to in the future of this setting.

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