PEGYLATED INTERFERON LEADS TO HIGH RESPONSE RATES IN ET & PV AFTER HYDROXYUREA

  • MPNRF | October 6, 2019

    ASH Clinical News reported on the results of an open-label, phase II clinical trial published in Blood. MPN patients were treated with pegylated-interferon and showed an overall response rate of approximately two-thirds in patients with high-risk essential thrombocythemia (ET) and polycythemia vera (PV). A total of 115 patients were enrolled: 65 patients with ET and 50 patients with PV. All participants had a disease that was either resistant or intolerant to hydroxyurea. Researchers also found that, in patients with ET, the presence of a CALR mutation was associated with higher complete response (CR) rates to pegylated-interferon, suggesting that mutational status may help identify which patients would benefit most from this therapy.

    The study’s lead author Abdulraheem Yacoub, MD, of the University of Kansas Medical Center, explained to ASH Clinical News. “Identifying active treatments in this population is a critical medical need,” he added. “pegylated-interferon has shown good clinical activity in a large subset of these patients with clinical improvement in symptoms, cytoreduction, and some molecular and bone marrow responses. This study provides a practical and realistic criterion for patient selection and dose titration that can be applied in clinical practice.”

    Click here to read the full article.