[Hematologic responses with favorable safety in three elderly patients with polycythemia vera treated with ropeginterferon alfa-2b].

Treatment selection for patients with polycythemia vera (PV) is based on patient age and history of thrombosis. The standard treatment is low-dose aspirin and phlebotomy, with cytoreductive therapy added for high-risk PV. Clinical trials in patients with PV have shown that ropeginterferon alfa-2b (ropeg-IFN) treatment is safe, efficacious, and reduces JAK2 V617F allele burden. As PV mainly affects individuals aged 60 years and older, incidence estimates have been increasing. Here we report 3 cases of elderly patients treated with ropeg-IFN who experienced no serious adverse events. All 3 patients achieved and maintained complete hematologic response with reduced JAK2 V617F allele burden. Ropeg-IFN is an effective and safe therapy for elderly patients with PV that also improves quality of life.