Infectious complications in patients on treatment with Ruxolitinib: case report and review of the literature.

BACKGROUND

Primary myelofibrosis is a chronic myeloproliferative neoplasm that may cause debilitating symptoms, which can be improved with the use of Ruxolitinib, a Janus kinase 2 inhibitor. However, this agent has significant immunomodulatory effects which may increase the risk for infections.

METHODS

We searched the literature and our institutional electronic medical record for reported cases of infections in adult patients on ruxolitinib treatment.

RESULTS

We found 28 cases in our literature search and 4 cases from our Institution for a total of 32 cases. The most common infection was tuberculosis in 11/32 cases (34%), followed by cryptococcal infection in 3/32 (9%) and hepatitis B virus reactivation in 3/32 (9%).

CONCLUSION

Opportunistic infections associated with ruxolitinib use are increasingly reported in the literature; further studies should investigate the role of systematic screening and prophylaxis against infections in this subset of patients.