Impact of Early-Onset or Worsening Anemia in Patients with Myelofibrosis Treated with Ruxolitinib: A post hoc Analysis of the JUMP Study.

UNLABELLED: <p>

Introduction

Anemia can influence decisions regarding initiation, dosing, and discontinuation of Janus kinase inhibitor therapy for myelofibrosis. We evaluated the impact of new-onset or worsening anemia following ruxolitinib initiation on spleen response, symptom severity, and overall survival in patients with myelofibrosis.

METHODS

This post hoc analysis used data from all patients enrolled in the phase 3b JUMP trial. Outcomes were stratified by presence or absence of new-onset or worsening anemia following ruxolitinib initiation, defined as hemoglobin decrease ≥15 g/L from baseline and hemoglobin <100 g/L (female)/<110 g/L (male) at Week 12, new transfusion requirement post-baseline until Week 12 (for baseline non-transfusion-dependent patients), or ≥50% increase from baseline in red blood cell transfusions through Week 12.

RESULTS

Overall, 2,233 patients were included; 52.9% developed new-onset or worsening anemia up to Week 12. Ruxolitinib was associated with improvements in spleen length and myelofibrosis symptoms, regardless of the presence or absence of new-onset or worsening anemia or baseline anemia status. No differences in spleen response or overall survival were observed between patients with versus without new-onset or worsening anemia, regardless of baseline anemia status.

CONCLUSIONS

These results support the use of ruxolitinib in patients with myelofibrosis, regardless of baseline anemia or development of treatment-related anemia. </p>.