New era for myelofibrosis treatment with novel agents beyond Janus kinase-inhibitor monotherapy: Focus on clinical development of BCL-XL/BCL-2 inhibition with navitoclax

Abstract

Myelofibrosis is a heterogeneous myeloproliferative neoplasm characterized by chronic inflammation, progressive bone marrow failure, and hepatosplenic extramedullary hematopoiesis. Treatments like Janus kinase inhibitor monotherapy (e.g., ruxolitinib) provide significant spleen and symptom relief but demonstrate limited ability to lead to a durable disease modification. There is an urgent unmet medical need for treatments with a novel mechanism of action that can modify the underlying pathophysiology and affect the disease course of myelofibrosis. This review highlights the role of B-cell lymphoma (BCL) protein BCL-extra large (BCL-XL) in disease pathogenesis and the potential role that navitoclax, a BCL-extra large/BCL-2 inhibitor, may have in myelofibrosis treatment.