Dr. Scherber on the Treatment of Myelofibrosis

Robyn M. Scherber, MD, MPH, physician, The Mays Cancer Center, the newly named center of UT Health San Antonio MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses the treatment of patients with myelofibrosis.

Scherber says that the treatment approach to myelofibrosis is 2-fold. First, risk must be assessed. Risk scoring methods such as the Dynamic International Prognostic Scoring System are often used, and if the patient is early on in their course of disease, Scherber says she uses the International Prognostic Score. Once risk is determined, the treatment paradigm becomes clearer.

The other thing that is considered when choosing treatment for a patient with myelofibrosis is symptom burden. MPN10 is a 10-item assessment of symptoms with a 0 to 100 scoring system. If the collective total of the symptoms is greater than 20 out of 100, or any individual symptom is scored greater than 5, those patients may benefit from symptom-based therapy, explains Scherber.