Mayo Clinic Cancer Center researchers and collaborators from the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center have found “marked and durable” patient benefits from an experimental drug that inhibits a mutation responsible for myelofibrosis, a serious bone marrow disease that can lead to leukemia. The findings appear in the current New England Journal of Medicine. Researchers conducted a phase 1-2 clinical study with 153 patients over 14 months, testing effects of a kinase inhibitor called INCB018424 produced by Incyte pharmaceuticals, which also funded the study.
Results showed patients with debilitating symptoms — weight loss, fatigue and skin discomfort — experienced rapid improvement. Patients also showed lower levels of inflammation-producing cells. Over half of the patients receiving 15 mg. doses twice daily also showed reduction of enlarged spleens and sustained that benefit for 12 or more months.
Ayalew Tefferi, M.D., Mayo Clinic hematologist and a leading author on the study, is available for interviews. Contact Nicole Engler at 507-284-5005.
