Ruxolitinib and Anemia in Myelofibrosis: Real-World Survival Outcomes in the United States

Ruxolitinib is an approved therapy for myelofibrosis that provides significant benefits in terms of symptom management, spleen size reduction, and overall survival. However, it does not address anemia which is common in myelofibrosis patients. 

The annual conference of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) hosted many interesting research updates for blood cancers. Among them, the findings from the phase 3b JUMP study revealed anemia’s association with myelofibrosis survival. 

In this article, you’ll learn more about these findings and how monitoring anemia could be crucial for patients receiving ruxolitinib and for survival outcomes.

What are the Details of the Ruxolitinib phase 3b JUMP Study?

This retrospective study collected data from the US Flatiron Health electronic health record–derived database. It included 286 adult patients diagnosed with myelofibrosis with a mean age of 72 years. 57% were male.  All patients received ruxolitinib treatment between January 1, 2013, and March 1, 2023.  

Patients were grouped based on:

• Their anemia status at treatment initiation 
• Whether they developed new or worsening anemia within the first 12 weeks of treatment with ruxolitinib. 
• Study Findings Highlights

Across the overall population, new or worsening anemia was significantly associated with shorter survival, regardless of baseline anemia status. This effect was most pronounced in patients who didn’t present anemia at baseline. 

The following table breaks down the results per patients with baseline anemia (51%) and without (49%). Significant differences were found between them: 

Looking Forward

This analysis highlights the significant impact of anemia on survival outcomes in myelofibrosis patients treated with ruxolitinib. Patients with anemia, whether present at baseline or developing during treatment, face less favorable survival outcomes compared to those without anemia at baseline. 

These findings highlight the need for therapeutic approaches to address anemia and improve survival. 

Future research should focus on developing alternative strategies to manage anemia in myelofibrosis, ensuring that patients can benefit from symptom control without experiencing a decline in overall survival due to anemia.

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Source: 

• Retrospective Real-World Analysis of Survival Outcomes in Patients with Myelofibrosis and New or Worsening Anemia Treated with Ruxolitinib in the United States