A roundtable discussion, moderated by Guillermo Garcia-Manero, MD, Blood Cancers Today Associate Editor, of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, focused on the latest data in the treatment of low-risk myelodysplastic syndromes. Dr. Garcia-Manero was joined by Jamie Koprivnikar, MD; George Yaghmour, MD; and Sangeetha Venugopal, MD.
In the next segment of the roundtable series, the panel shared their thoughts on real-world data of luspatercept presented at the ASH 2023 Annual Meeting, which showed patients remained on the drug for a prolonged period of time without needing additional therapy for their MDS.
Watch the next segment in this series.
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Dr. Garcia-Manero: We’ve been covering some of the key aspects of this data presented with luspatercept at the meeting. I think before we move to the next part of this conversation, any updates or any data on real-world analysis with luspatercept? Maybe for George or maybe for Jamie, at the end of the day, you were mentioning survival, but what about patient-related outcomes or any kind of patient-related data with this?
Dr. Yaghmour: Quality of life data from real-world experience. Also, it’s promising, and of course there is the data showed us even quality of life based on a score objectively and subjectively evaluated. It’s an important point also that’s encouraging us in the setting of luspatercept use in early or now moving from the MEDALIST to COMMANDS and having access to start patients earlier on luspatercept and improving just not the blood numbers and modulating the inflammatory status and giving them better quality of life. It’s definitely encouraging for us to discuss with our patient.
Dr. Koprivnikar: Yeah, some of the real-world experience I thought was quite interesting. We do know that the FDA kind of gave a broader label that it is a little bit easier now, at least in my experience, to get luspatercept for patients who may require red blood cell transfusions. In the real-world abstract that was published, we did see that the majority of patients who were started on luspatercept actually were not requiring transfusions. These patients, again, this is sort of data from registries, it’s not necessarily the most granular data in the world, but it did seem that these patients remained on the drug for a prolonged period of time without needing additional therapy for their MDS [myelodysplastic syndromes], well over a year based on the abstract that was reported regarding the real-world use of luspatercept.
Dr. Garcia-Manero: That’s wonderful. It seems that we are replicating in the clinics what we need in those clinical trials, right?
Dr. Yaghmour: Exactly, which is encouraging.
Dr. Garcia-Manero: A hundred percent. We are excited about this data.