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EHA 2025 | The impact of anemia on patients with myelofibrosis
In this video, Francesca Palandri, MD, PhD, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy, discusses the impact of anemia on patients with myelofibrosis (MF), highlighting that it significantly affects patients’ quality of life, survival, and healthcare resource utilization. Anemia is also a prognostic factor for the progression of MF to acute leukemia. Dr Palandri emphasizes the need for effective long-term treatments for this patient population, as the effects of current management strategies are short-lived. This interview took place at the 30th Congress of the European Hematology Association (EHA) in Milan, Italy.
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Transcript
Unfortunately, anemia is very frequent in the population of MF patients. It accounts for around 40% of the patients from the very beginning at diagnosis, but over time, eventually all the patients will acquire anemia. Anemia is associated with a decreased survival with a higher degree of anemia correlating directly with a lower life expectancy. Anemia is also a significant burden for the patients from an emotional point of view, from a psychological point of view, and also from a financial point of view with a significant increase in the healthcare resource utilization from these patients and in terms of time and need for coming to hospital visits and performing medical evaluations...
Unfortunately, anemia is very frequent in the population of MF patients. It accounts for around 40% of the patients from the very beginning at diagnosis, but over time, eventually all the patients will acquire anemia. Anemia is associated with a decreased survival with a higher degree of anemia correlating directly with a lower life expectancy. Anemia is also a significant burden for the patients from an emotional point of view, from a psychological point of view, and also from a financial point of view with a significant increase in the healthcare resource utilization from these patients and in terms of time and need for coming to hospital visits and performing medical evaluations.
Also, we know that the anemia is strictly correlated with the probability of progression into acute leukemia. So this is a very important prognostic factor for our patients and indeed in all the conventional risk models that we have now currently in use for myelofibrosis, anemia is included among one of the most important variables correlating with a worse prognosis.
Unfortunately, the pathogenesis of anemia in myelofibrosis is multifactorial, is multifaceted, and that’s why treating anemia may be so difficult. So far we had only conventional therapies targeting anemia including, for example, erythropoietin-stimulating agents, immunomodulating agents, red blood cell transfusion, or androgens, and we know that all these measures are very short-lasting in time and not effective in the long term. There is a lot of clinical research in order to have more therapeutic options for the patients with anemia, and I believe the best and the currently available treatment for this important medical need is represented by momelotinib, which is a JAK1/2 inhibitor, but also a ACVR1 inhibitor, which may improve the hemoglobin levels by decreasing the levels of hepcidin, which is a liver hormone that regulates iron metabolism, and its inhibition may restore correct iron metabolism and then stimulate erythropoiesis also in the patients with myelofibrosis.
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Disclosures
Speakers bureau: Novartis, BMS, AOP, Sierra Oncology, Incyte, Telios, Abbvie, Constellation-Morphosys, Sobi, GSK.
