The MPN Sessions: highlights from EHA and ASCO 2021

Over the past decade there has been a vast increase in the number of clinical trials taking place in the field of myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs), with many trials investigating the potential benefits of novel JAK inhibitors both as monotherapy and in combination with other drugs, such as Bcl-2, Bcl-xL or BET inhibitors. More recently, next-generation sequencing has led to the identification of further mutations associated with MPNs, which may provide alternative therapeutic targets. In particular, the telomerase inhibitor imetelstat and the MDM2 inhibitor KRT-232, have demonstrated potential benefits for patients with myelofibrosis, whilst the tyrosine kinase inhibitor avapritinib recently received FDA approval for the treatment of advanced systemic mastocytosis.

In this roundtable discussion, leading MPN experts Ruben Mesa, MD, from the UT Health San Antonio MD Anderson Cancer Center, San Antonio, TX, and Naveen Pemmaraju, MD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, review the top highlights from the 2021 European Hematology Association (EHA) and American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meetings, including data on novel JAK inhibitors and combination regimens, therapies for rarer MPNs and updates from ongoing Phase III trials of key treatments.