Dr. Dunavin on Frontline Treatment in Myelofibrosis

Neil Dunavin, MD, MS, assistant professor of medicine, School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses frontline treatment in myelofibrosis.

Myelofibrosis is a highly symptomatic disease, explains Dunavin. Patients with myelofibrosis may have low blood counts that require transfusion, fatigue, sweats, and enlarged spleens.

Ruxolitinib (Jakafi) is the current frontline standard of care for patients with myelofibrosis who have adequate blood counts, says Dunavin. In November 2011, the oral JAK1/2 inhibitor became the first drug to receive regulatory approval for the treatment of patients with myelofibrosis.