Empowered Patient Podcast Breakthrough Treatment for Myelofibrosis Changes Care Options with Dr. Ruben Mesa Atrium Health
Dr. Ruben Mesa, Executive Director, Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses advancements in the treatment of myelofibrosis, chronic leukemia, a blood disease characterized by scarring in the bone marrow. Current therapies include stem cell transplants and ruxolitinib, a drug that helps with symptoms and spleen enlargement but does not improve anemia. A new once-a-day pill, momelotinib, known as Ojaara, has been approved, effectively reducing spleen size, improving symptoms, and effectively addressing anemia.
Ruben explains, "What we've learned over time is that the origin of the disease is a chronic leukemia that occurs in the bone marrow that is driven by different changes in the genes that control the function of the bone marrow. And then there's a secondary scarring that occurs."
"Patients with myelofibrosis might be afflicted with a drop in the blood counts and have anemia or a drop in the white blood cell count or the platelet count. They may have symptoms associated with the disease, such as fatigue, night sweats, and weight loss, and they can have enlargement of the spleen, which is a filter for the blood under the rib cage. The spleen can be enlarged and give its own set of symptoms. I mentioned it's a chronic leukemia, and it can progress to being an acute leukemia that can be concerning and potentially life-threatening with even more severe changes in the blood counts."
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