Understanding Myelofibrosis Treatment: Real-World Insights

Myelofibrosis (MF), a type of blood cancer, has seen changes in its treatment over the years. Before the approval of ruxolitinib (RUX), hydroxyurea (HU) was commonly used. The METER study, a large-scale review of patient records from multiple countries, looked into how MF is treated and how healthcare resources are used. Out of 997 patients, most had primary MF (65. 9%), and a small portion (11. 7%) needed blood transfusions regularly. The time between MF diagnosis and starting the first treatment varied widely, with a median of 29 days. RUX was the most popular first-choice treatment (49%), followed by HU (40.2%). Almost half of the patients (48. 5%) stuck with their first treatment for over three years. A few patients (77) underwent a procedure called allogeneic stem cell transplantation, which was not common as the first treatment but became more frequent over time, especially for patients 70 years old or younger. The average survival time for all patients was around 79 months, with better outcomes for those not using RUX and slightly lower for those starting RUX first. Hospital stays and transfusions were still high, even with improvements in treatment.