Tag Archives: mpn

Patient-Reported Outcomes Drive Effective MPN Treatment

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December 16, 2o24

Author(s): Laura Joszt, MA

With patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) having long life expectancies, it’s important that treatments optimize quality of life and patient-reported outcomes, said Jennifer Vaughn, MD, hematologist-oncologist and assistant professor in the Division of Hematology at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute.

This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.

Transcript

How are patient-reported outcomes currently being used and incorporated into clinical practice to inform treatment for rare hematological conditions?

I think myeloproliferative neoplasms are an important area where patient-reported outcomes are so important. The drug ruxolitinib or Jakafi, which is a JAK [Janus kinase] inhibitor used in both polycythemia vera and myelofibrosis, was actually originally approved in myelofibrosis because of the improvement it led to in patient quality of life.

First of all, it was able to objectively reduce spleen volume, which led to improvement in patient symptoms, and it led to reductions in symptom scores on the MPN symptom assessment form, which is sort of the standard form we use now to assess how a patient is feeling over time. While there have been some data later on that suggests there may be an overall survival benefit in certain subsets of myelofibrosis, we really do decide to put patients on that treatment because of what they’re telling us about, how they feel. This was really one of the first models of using patient-reported outcomes in looking at whether or not a drug is valuable to society and to patients themselves.

Patients with MPNs become very symptomatic, and many of them will live [long] or have very excellent prognosis in terms of expected lifespan, but their quality of life is quite impeded by the symptoms of the disease. So, it’s really important for clinicians to be kind of reevaluating that on a regular, routine basis.

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Thrombosis Linked With Second Cancer Risk in MPNs

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Jonathan Goodman, MPhil
Publish Date

Among patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs), arterial thrombosis incidence appears to raise the risk of second cancers (SCs) and consequently, mortality, according to an analysis published in Blood Cancer Journal. Inflammatory biomarkers in these diseases suggest a more aggressive disease etiology, the authors added.

In the case of polycythemia vera (PV) or essential thrombocythemia (ET), previous research suggested that thrombosis may heighten the risk of progression to secondary myelofibrosis, which has a high mortality rate. For this retrospective analysis of MPN-patient data, researchers aimed to determine the elements of thrombosis that promote this risk.

Overall, data were evaluated from 1545 patients with PV, 891 patients with ET, 180 patients who were pre-primary myelofibrosis (PMF), and 707 patients with PMF. The median follow-up periods in the PV, ET, pre-PMF, and PMF groups were 5.6 months, 5.6 months, 6.1 months, and 2.92 months, respectively; 19%, 12%, 15%, and 7% of patients had a thrombosis event.

Future therapies should focus on targeting the complex mechanisms involved in both atherogenesis and thrombogenesis…and anti-inflammatory drugs for primary and secondary prevention of thrombosis.

Analysis of the patient data showed that arterial, but not venous or splanchnic, thrombosis was linked with a greater risk of SCs (odds ratio [OR], 2.53; 95% CI, 2.4-5.17). A white blood cell count of at least 11 x 109/L appeared to trend toward a greater risk of SCs, but this link was not significant (OR, 1.27; 95% CI, 0.96-1.67); this was also true of a PMF vs ET diagnosis (OR, 2.54; 95% CI, 0.97-6.61).

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OB756 Showcases Favorable Tolerability in JAK Inhibitor–Naive Myelofibrosis

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December 16, 2024

Author(s): Kristi Rosa

The investigative JAK2 inhibitor OB756 was found to be well tolerated and to elicit meaningful clinical activity in the form of rapid and durable spleen reduction in Chinese patients with myelofibrosis who did not have prior exposure to JAK inhibition, according to data from a phase 1/2 study (CTR20201950) presented during the 2024 ASH Annual Meeting.

In the phase 1 portion of the research, no dose-limiting toxicities were reported when the agent was administered at twice daily doses ranging from 8 mg to 32 mg. Investigators ultimately identified 16 mg and 20 mg twice daily as the recommended phase 2 dose (RP2D) according to p-STAT3 inhibited percentage in an Imax model.

Of 66 evaluable patients, 54.5% achieved a spleen volume reduction (SVR) of at least 35% (SVR35) at the end of cycle 6. Moreover, 59.1% of patients achieved SVR35 at the time of the last follow-up; at the end of cycle 12, 50.0% had achieved SVR35. SVR occurred early, with 7 of 28 patients experiencing a reduction of greater than 5 cm from baseline by week 1 of treatment. Additionally, a 50% or higher reduction in total symptom score (TSS50) was achieved by 51.4% of 55 patients at the end of cycle 3, 64.2% of 53 patients at the end of cycle 6, and 87.5% of 8 patients at the end of cycle 20.

“OB756 can be a promising treatment option for patients with myelofibrosis, but we still need to wait for the final data analysis results after all patients complete follow-up,” Yile Zhou, MD, of the Department of Hematology, the First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, in Hangzhou, China, said in a poster presentation of the data.

In preclinical studies, OB756 was found to hinder cell proliferation and encourage cell apoptosis by acting on the JAK/STAT-signaling pathway. The open-label, multicenter, phase 1/2 study enrolled patients with primary myelofibrosis, post–polycythemia vera (post-PV) myelofibrosis, and post–essential thrombocytopenia (post-ET) myelofibrosis who were at least 18 years of age and whose disease was intermediate-1/2 or higher per the International Prognostic Scoring System (IPSS).

The trial utilized a 3+3 design for the dose-escalation portion of the research. OB756 was to be evaluated twice daily at the following 6 dosage levels: 8 mg, 16 mg, 24 mg, 32 mg, 40 mg, and 48 mg. The number of patients enrolled per dose level in phase 1 were as follows: 1 patient in the 8-mg group, 3 in the 16-mg group, 4 in the 24-mg group, and 1 in the 32-mg group.

The primary end point of phase 1 was to identify the maximum tolerated dose and the RP2D of OB756. For the second phase, investigators set out to determine the proportion of patients who achieved SVR35 from baseline at week 24. The key secondary end points in phase 2 included TSS50 from baseline at week 24, platelet and anemia improvements, and safety.

A total of 296 patients with myelofibrosis were assessed for eligibility between November 3, 2020, and May 16, 2024; 75 patients were enrolled and received the JAK2 inhibitor (phase 1, n = 9; phase 2, n = 66). The median age of patients included in the phase 2 portion of the research was 58 years (range, 55-69), and more than half were male (57.6%). Most patients had primary myelofibrosis (71.2%), and the remaining patients had post-PV disease (21.2%) or post-ET disease (7.6%). Regarding IPSS, 28.8% of patients had intermediate-1 disease, 39.4% had intermediate-2 disease, and 31.8% had high-risk disease. The median spleen volume was 1780.2 mL (range, 1132.5-2728.7). Moreover, 6.1% of patients had a history of red blood cell transfusion. Patients had EOG status of 0 (24.2%), 1 (68.7%), or 2 (6.1%). Most patients had JAK2 mutation (87.1%); other participants had CARL (12.1%) or MPL (1.6%) mutations. The mean MPN System Assessment Form TSS was 13.5 (range, 0-71). The mean number of days from diagnosis to enrollment was 298.5 (range, 4-4020).

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JAB-8263 Monotherapy Demonstrates Early Promise in Myelofibrosis

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December 13, 2024

Author(s): Kristi Rosa

The investigative BET inhibitor JAB-8263 was found to be well tolerated and to demonstrate preliminary efficacy in patients with myelofibrosis, according to data from a phase 1/2 study (NCT04686682) presented during the 2024 ASH Annual Meeting.1

Any treatment-emergent adverse effects (TEAEs) occurred in 93.8% of those who received the agent at any dose level (n = 16), with 37.5% experiencing grade 3 or higher TEAEs and 25.0% experiencing a serious TEAEs. Treatment-related AEs (TRAEs) occurred in 87.5% of patients, with 31.3% experiencing grade 3 or higher TRAEs, and 18.8% experiencing serious TRAEs. TRAEs led to dose interruption and reduction for 43.8% and 25.0% of patients, respectively. One patient experienced a TRAE that led to discontinuation of JAB-8263. No treatment-related events proved to be fatal.

Notably, 1 dose-limiting toxicity occurred in a patient who received the agent at a dose of 0.4 mg; this patient experienced grade 3 increases in alanine and aspartate aminotransferase levels.

In all evaluable patients (n = 13), the mean spleen volume reduction (SVR) was –19.95% (range, –39.4% to 3.6%) at week 24 and –26.16% (range, 56.6% to –11.0%) at best response. Notably, 2 patients achieved an SVR of 35% or higher, and 1 patient experienced an SVR of –34.9%. Moreover, at week 24, 60% of 10 patients had a tumor symptom score reduction of at least 50% (TSS50). Two of 8 patients who had received JAK inhibitors experienced a best response of SVR of –41.2% and 34.9%, respectively. Moreover, 50% of 6 evaluable patients who had received JAK inhibitors achieved TSS50 at week 24.

“JAB-8263 at 0.125 mg [once daily to] 0.3 mg [once daily] was well tolerated…Hematological and gastrointestinal AEs are mild with JAB-8263 continuous dosing [compared with] other BET inhibitors,” Junyuan Qi, MD, of the Institute of Hematology and Blood Disease Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, in Tianjin, China, and coauthors, wrote in the poster of the data. “The preliminary efficacy data in myelofibrosis for JAB-8263 monotherapy is promising. Most patients showed spleen reduction and TSS reduction.”

The early-phase study enrolled patients with confirmed primary myelofibrosis (PMF), post–polycythemia vera myelofibrosis (PV-MF), or post–essential thrombocytopenia myelofibrosis (ET-MF). Patients were at least 18 years of age, had spleen volume of at least 450 cm3, a Dynamic International Prognostic Score (DIPSS) of at least intermediate-1, and an ECOG performance status up to 2.

The median age in the 16 total patients was 62 years (range, 36-69) and 56.3% were female. All patients were Asian. Regarding ECOG performance status, 31.3% had a status of 0, 62.5% had a status of 1, and 6.3% had a status of 2. Regarding disease subtype, 68.8% of patients had PMF, 18.8% had PV-MF, and 12.5% had ET-MF. Half of patients had prior exposure to a JAK inhibitor. Most patients had a JAK2 mutation (93.8%). Regarding DIPSS, 68.8% had intermediate-1 disease and 25.0% had intermediate-2 disease. The median time since initial diagnosis was 13.5 months (range, 0.9-76.6).

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MAIC Points to Improved OS With Momelotinib in Ruxolitinib-Pretreated Myelofibrosis

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December 13, 2024

Author(s): Caroline Seymour, Kyle Doherty

Fact checked by: Courtney Flaherty

Momelotinib (Ojjaara) demonstrated improved overall survival (OS) vs best available therapy (BAT) in patients with ruxolitinib (Jakafi)–pretreated myelofibrosis, according to data from a matching-adjusted indirect comparison (MAIC) analysis that were presented at the 2024 ASH Annual Meeting & Exposition.1

Data from an unmatched analysis demonstrated that the median OS favored patients who received momelotinib (n = 383) compared with those who received BAT (n = 267; HR, 0.373; 95% CI, 0.297-0.469; P < .001). In the base case model (model 1), the median OS also favored momelotinib (n = 89) vs BAT (HR, 0.512; HR, 0.358-0.732; P < .001). In the alternative adjustment model (model 2), the median OS again favored momelotinib (n = 117) vs BAT (HR, 0.484; 95% CI, 0.347-0.675; P < .001).

Additionally, patients in the anemia subgroup who received momelotinib (n = 255) experienced a median OS benefit compared with those treated with BAT (n = 174; HR, 0.384; 95% CI, 0.293-0.504; P < .001). Data from model 1 also showed that patients treated with momelotinib in this subgroup (n = 98) achieved a median OS benefit vs those in the BAT arm (HR, 0.542; 95% CI, 0.387-0.759; P < .001). Findings from model 2 demonstrated a median OS benefit with momelotinib (n = 146) vs BAT (HR, 0.487; 95% CI, 0.360-0.660; P < .001).

“[Although] the trials used in this analysis do no provide long-term outcomes, this MAIC suggests that momelotinib may offer a greater OS benefit than BAT in patients with myelofibrosis previously treated with ruxolitinib, both in the overall cohort and the anemic population,” Francesca Palandri, MD, PhD, lead study author and an adjunct professor in the Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences at the University of Bologna in Italy, said in a poster presentation of the data.

In September 2023, the FDA approved momelotinib for the treatment of adult patients with intermediate or high-risk myelofibrosis, including primary myelofibrosis or secondary myelofibrosis, and anemia.2 The regulatory decision was supported by findings from the phase 3 MOMENTUM (NCT04173494) and SIMPLIFY-1 trials (NCT01969838).

To conduct their analysis, Palandri and colleagues performed a MAIC analysis comparing patients who received momelotinib during MOMENTUM, SIMPLIFY-1, or the phase 3 SIMPLIFY-2 trial (NCT02101268) with 267 patients who received BAT across 26 European hematology centers in the real-world, retrospective RUX-MF study.1 Notably, the overall study included 1055 patients treated with ruxolitinib across 26 European hematology centers from 2013 until death or the data cutoff of February 2, 2024.

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Pacritinib and Momelotinib Display Positive Real-World Impact on Anemia and Transfusion Needs in Myelofibrosis

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December 12, 2024

Author(s): Kyle Doherty

Fact checked by: Caroline Seymour

Although long-term follow-up was limited, treatment with the JAK2 inhibitors pacritinib (Vonjo) and/or momelotinib (Ojjaara) led to favorable effects on anemia and transfusion requirements among patients with myelofibrosis, according to findings from a real-world study presented in a poster during the 2024 ASH Annual Meeting.1

Patients who received momelotinib (n = 32) had a median hemoglobin count of 8.7 g/dL (range, 6.5-1.2) at the start of therapy which increased to 9.0 g/dL after 3 months of treatment (P = .021). The median platelet count at the start of therapy was 141 x 109/L (range 15 x 109-504 x 109) and increased to 116 x 109/L after 3 months (P = .317). Patients required a mean of 1.9 red blood cell (RBC) units/month at the start of therapy and 0.47 units/month after 3 months of treatment (P = .015).

Patients treated with pacritinib (n = 27) had a median hemoglobin count of 8.5 g/dL (range, 6.9-12.9) at the start of treatment and a median count of 9.1 g/dL following 3 months of therapy (P = .402). The median platelet count at the start of therapy was 65 x 109/L(range, 18 x 109-441 x 109) compared with 31 x 109/L after 3 months of treatment (P = .303). Patients required a mean of 2.4 RBC units/month at the start of therapy vs 0.75 RBC units/month after 3 months of therapy (P = .099).

“The goal of this project was to [examine] the patients who have been treated so far at Moffitt Cancer Center with either pacritinib and/or momelotinib to gain a better understanding of the hematologic responses of these therapies, the duration of treatment, and other real-world data regarding these agents after they got their approvals,” Jeremy DiGennaro, MD, said during the presentation. “Patients receiving momelotinib and pacritinib are typically older with extended disease duration, multiple prior lines of therapy, high-risk mutations, and cytopenia. Pacritinib-treated patients have more prominent baseline thrombocytopenia. [However], there were favorable impacts on anemia and transfusion requirements [with both agents], although we still do need more long-term follow-up.”

DiGennaro is an internal medicine resident physician at the University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine in Tampa.

In February 2022, the FDA granted accelerated approval to pacritinib for the treatment of adult patients with intermediate or high-risk primary or secondary myelofibrosis with a platelet count below 50,000/µL.2 Momelotinib was approved by the FDA in September 2023 for the treatment of adult patients with intermediate or high-risk myelofibrosis, including primary myelofibrosis or secondary myelofibrosis, and anemia.3

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Optimizing Myelofibrosis Care in the Age of JAK Inhibitors

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December 12, 2024|Hematology and Oncology
Douglas Tremblay, MD

Myelofibrosis is a rare but serious bone marrow disorder that disrupts blood cell production and often leads to debilitating symptoms. In this interview, Douglas Tremblay, MD, Assistant Professor at the Tisch Cancer Institute, discusses the process for selecting the best treatment pathway for patients – from evaluating disease prognosis to navigating treatment resistance and intolerance.

Dr. Douglas Tremblay

How do you assess a patient’s prognosis at the time that they are diagnosed with myelofibrosis?
In the clinic, we use several scoring systems that have been developed based on the outcomes of hundreds of patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) to try to predict survival from time of diagnosis. Disease features associated with a poor prognosis include anemia, elevated white blood cell count, advanced age, constitutional symptoms, and increased peripheral blasts. Some of these scoring systems also incorporate chromosomal abnormalities as well as gene mutations to further refine prognostication.1

Determining prognosis can be important to creating a treatment plan, particularly to decide if curative allogeneic stem cell transplantation is necessary. However, I always caution patients that these prognostic scoring systems cannot tell the future and that each patient may respond differently to treatment.

How do you monitor for disease progression?
I will discuss with patients how they are feeling in order to determine if there are any new or developing symptoms that could be a sign that their disease is progressing. I will also review their laboratory work looking for changes in blood counts that could be a signal of disease evolution.

For instance, development of anemia or thrombocytopenia may signal worsening bone marrow function or progression to secondary acute leukemia. If there are concerning signs or symptoms, I will then perform a bone marrow biopsy with aspirate that will include assessment of mutations and chromosomal abnormalities to determine if their disease is progressing.

What are the first-line treatment options for a patient newly diagnosed with myelofibrosis, and how do you determine the best course of action?
For patients with myelofibrosis, the first-line treatment options include Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors, which are effective at improving spleen size and reducing symptom burden. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved 4 JAK inhibitors for the treatment of myelofibrosis: ruxolitinib, fedratinib, pacritinib, and momelotinib (Table).2-13 In general, ruxolitinib is the first-line treatment option unless there is thrombocytopenia, in which case pacritinib is more appropriate. In patients with baseline anemia, momelotinib may be the best choice.

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In Myeloid Neoplasms, Next-Generation Sequencing Can Be Inappropriate—and Money-Wasting

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December 12, 2024

Author(s): Gayle Turim Dickstein

Using more careful consideration when deciding whether or not to order next-generation sequencing (NGS) for a patient with an actual or suspected myeloid neoplasm (MN) could save institutions thousands of dollars annually without compromising care, according to a Yale School of Medicine team. They have created a set of criteria to determine the appropriateness of NGS testing for MN (MN-NGS), with the goal of maximizing actionable results. Writing in eJHaem, the team also noted that the results of NGS, when not clinically indicated but performed anyway, can foster fruitless investigative paths and amplify patient anxiety.1

Close-up illustration of a MN | image credit: sawaratch – stock.adobe.com

They noted that, indeed, MNs often harbor pathogenic mutations that go undetected by karyotyping and fluorescence in situ hybridization, and NGS is truly necessary for diagnosis, risk stratification, and therapy.2 Among the 6 situations that would, if present, warrant NGS (ie, approval criteria) would be clinical suspicion of new, relapsed, or worsening disease, and end-of-induction chemotherapy.

The 6 “cancellation criteria”—situations in which these investigators say NGS clearly should not be performed—include, first, having a suspicion of only nonmyeloid disease (ie, the diagnosis is a nonmyeloid disease, or there is no suspicion for acute myeloid leukemia [AML], myelodysplasia, myeloproliferative neoplasm [MPN], or another MN). Other situations are having no suspicion of progression of a known MN; no evidence for recurrence post-transplant; a diagnosis of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) with no concern for AML; and cases using blood when a concurrent bone marrow NGS is being performed. The 6th and final criterion is that none of the above cancellation criteria have been met, but no approval criteria have been met either.

The actionable results that should emerge from NGS done for the proper reason include making a new MN diagnosis, characterizing a MN with baseline mutational status for follow-up purposes, and altering a patient’s treatment plan, noted the investigators.

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Fedratinib Alleviates Symptoms, Reduces Spleen Volume in MDS, MPNs

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Megan Garlapow, PhD

Fedratinib can reduce symptoms and spleen volume in patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) or myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs), according to research presented at the ASH Annual Meeting 2024.

Researchers are evaluating fedratinib, a JAK2 inhibitor, in a phase 2 trial. The trial (NCT05177211) enrolled 25 patients with atypical chronic myeloid leukemia (n=6), chronic neutrophilic leukemia (n=5), MDS/MPN-unclassifiable (n=8), and MDS/MPN with ring sideroblasts and thrombocytosis (n=6).

At baseline, the median patient age was 68.8 (range, 39.9-84.7) years, and the median time from diagnosis to treatment was 7.1 months. Most patients had splenomegaly (83%), and the median MPN-Symptom Assessment Form Total Symptom Score was 21 (range, 1-73). Prior treatments included hydroxyurea (36%), ruxolitinib (20%), luspatercept (8%), and hypomethylating agents (12%). Patients had a median of 3 pathogenic mutations.

“Most of these patients had multiple mutations, and most had a signaling mutation, an epigenetic mutation, and a splicing mutation,” said study presenter Andrew Kuykendall, MD, of the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida.

The patients received fedratinib at a dose of 400 mg daily in 28-day cycles. They could continue on treatment as long as they had a clinical benefit. At last follow-up, 11 patients were still on study treatment.

The median duration of fedratinib treatment was 10.8 months, and 21 patients were evaluable for efficacy at 24 weeks. Three patients discontinued fedratinib prior to 24 weeks for reasons unrelated to toxicity or lack of efficacy (eg, cost) and were considered non-responders.

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Genetic Links to High Altitude Found to Reduce Inflammation, Speed Response to PV Therapy

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December 10, 2024

Author(s): Mary Caffrey

Questions about why an indigenous population living the Andes Mountains of South American had elevated hemoglobin led to the discovery that a variant linked to living at high altitude is also tied to reduced inflammation, as well as improved response to a therapy used to treat myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs).1

Jihyun Song, PhD | Image credit: University of Utah

The research to be presented today at the 66th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting & Exposition in San Diego, California, could lead to more precise treatments for polycythemia Vera (PV) and essential thrombocythemia (ET). Today, these 2 are treated with ropeginterferon-α (Besremi), and the work led by Jihyun Song, PhD, of Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah, now shows that populations with Andean enriched NFKB1 haplotype respond better to ropeginterferon-α.

The study has been accepted for publication in Nature Communications.

PV and ET are both associated with overproduction of blood cells; PV causes the bone marrow to produce too many red blood cells, while ET produces too many platelets. Both PV and ET can lead to chronic inflammation, increase the risk of blood clots, and progress to leukemia. These conditions also increase hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs), which can impact the survival of cancer cells in low-oxygen environments.

At a press briefing prior to Song’s presentation today, senior author Josef T. Prchal, MD, a physician scientist who holds the Charles A. Nugent, MD, and Margaret Nugent Endowed Professorship in Medicine/Hematology at the University of Utah, explained that the genetic variants that developed over time to allow the Aymara people survive in the Andes can be seen in some other populations—and they correlate with some differences in MPN phenotypes.

Josef Prchal, MD | Image credit: Photo supplied by ASH

“Our study suggests that with genotyping, the NFKB1 variant can be used as a biomarker for determining which patients may be more or less responsive to ropeginterferon-α treatment,” Prchal said.

He opened his remarks with an overview of how populations evolve with their environments; not only the Aymara but also Tibetans and Ethiopians have adapted to altitude in different ways, which he explored in earlier papers in Science2 and Nature Genetics,3 among others.

It is known that when humans spend time high altitude, their bodies adapt to reduced oxygen levels by increasing hemoglobin concentrations in the blood. This allows the body to carry more oxygen. Prchal explained how Song took this knowledge further. “We set up to try to find the gene which explains the hemoglobin,” he said.

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