Next Steps for Research With Interferon-Alpha in Polycythemia Vera

[Manouche]

« “We recognize that IFN is not a curative treatment—not everyone will respond to it and not everyone is a candidate to receive it. [However, if we] at least know the mechanism or the biology by which it works, then we can develop drugs that could target some of these mechanisms or potentially combine IFN with a drug that can create a synergy that ultimately would lead to a cure for the disease,” Abu-Zeinah said. »

onclive.com/view/abu-zeinah...

[EmeraldA]

Thank you!! Always appreciate ur posts

[JP1952]

Thank you Manouche, that's interesting and I think I understood it.

[Kdavie12]

Thank you Manouche, there is hope..

[dishcell]

Thank you always appreciate your posts

[Manouche]

« The event risk associated with a specimen’s fitness was often higher, or lower, than the patient’s clinical diagnosis indicated. We found several patients in unexpectedly high-risk fitness groups who subsequently progressed, or experienced other adverse events after sample collection. In contrast, the subset with MPN fitness lower than expected was enriched for patients receiving interferon; potentially reflecting disease-modifying therapeutic effects in these clinically stable patients... »

« Biomarkers are needed to sensitively and robustly monitor risk of clinically-important MPN outcomes such as progression, thrombosis and death. Without validated monitoring biomarkers, we are left with crude clinical measures that fall short as treatment decision-making tools. Our study offers a feasible approach to monitor the MPN biology central to disease progression. This approach can be used in clinical trials to efficiently identify therapies with the potential to modify disease outcomes important to patients and clinicians. We found that peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) populations yielded fitness measures indistinguishable from those including PMNs (supplementary Figure 9) thereby vastly simplifying future use of cryopreserved specimens. MPN fitness measurement also promises to improve prediction of MPN morbidity and progression by reporting individualized disease risk. Prospective studies with long-term outcomes are needed to realize this potential as a biomarker for disease-modification and progression in MPNs. Mechanistic studies to decipher the complex biology of clonal fitness are required to identify the most promising therapeutic approaches to reduce the competitive advantage of MPN-SPCs and improve outcomes for MPN patients. »

medrxiv.org/content/10.1101...