Ruxolitinib plus decitabine effectively treats myelodysplastic syndrome/myeloproliferative neoplasm, unclassifiable, by decreasing the variant allele frequency of KRAS

Abstract

Myelodysplastic syndrome/myeloproliferative neoplasm, unclassifiable (MDS/ MPN-U) is a subtype of MDS/MPN that exhibits a combination of the features of both MDS and MPN. To date, no curative treatment is available for MDS/MPN-U; however, previous studies have suggested a potential survival advantage for ruxolitinib and hypo-methylating agents. We reported a case of a JAK2-negative but KRAS-positive MDS/MPN-U patient treated with ruxolitinib plus decitabine. After treatment, the patient’s clinical symp-toms were moderated, and the size of the spleen and the peripheral blood cell counts were reduced. These effects might be due to the regimen’s ability to reduce STAT5 activation and upregulate microRNA-181c to downregulate the variant allele frequency (VAF) of KRAS.