Ruxolitinib treatment for myelofibrosis with anemia: a retrospective assessment of real-world patient characteristics, treatment patterns, and survival.

Characterization of real-world outcomes in ruxolitinib-treated patients with myelofibrosis and anemia is limited. This retrospective analysis of the US Flatiron Health electronic health record-derived deidentified database focused on patients with myelofibrosis who did or did not have anemia and received ruxolitinib. More baseline anemic vs nonanemic patients received <20 mg/day of ruxolitinib throughout the first 3 months post baseline (25% vs 16%), and baseline anemic patients had numerically shorter times to first dose reduction (median, 5.6 vs 12.8 months) and discontinuation (16.7 vs 24.8 months). Median survival was significantly shorter in baseline anemic vs nonanemic patients (37.4 vs 64.9 months [p < .001]) and in patients receiving ruxolitinib <20 vs ≥20 mg/day (40.1 vs 53.1 months [p<.05]). Regardless of baseline anemia, patients with new/worsening anemia on ruxolitinib had significantly worse survival (HR, 1.68 [95% CI, 1.18-2.40]; p<.01), suggesting that alternative therapies to ruxolitinib warrant evaluation in patients with myelofibrosis and anemia.