These results are encouraging, though challenges remain, said Craig Hofmeister, MD, MPH, of Winship Cancer Institute, Emory University, Atlanta.
“Clearly in these patients who are 100% lenalidomide refractory, the overall response rate of anything greater than or close to 20, 30, 40% is very appealing,” Dr. Hofmeister said in an ASCO presentation discussing the results of this trial.
The usual rationale for JAK inhibition is targeting of the bone microenvironment, but the microenvironment is a formidable opponent, Dr. Hofmeister said in his presentation.
“That’s an uphill battle,” he said. “There is an upcoming carfilzomib and ruxolitinib trial in multiple myeloma moving forward, and I’d be excited to see” the results.
The study (NCT03110822) was sponsored by Oncotherapeutics in collaboration with Incyte, the maker of ruxolitinib (Jakafi). Dr. Berenson, the presenting author, had disclosures related to Incyte, as well as Amgen, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Celgene, Janssen, Takeda, and OncoTracker.
SOURCE: Berenson JR, et al. J Clin Oncol 36, 2018 (suppl; abstr 8005).