Treatment patterns and healthcare resource utilization in ruxolitinib-treated patients with MF stratified by anemia status: A real-world analysis

The clinical and economic burden of patients with MF and anemia is high. Liu et al.¹ published a real-world retrospective study comparing the healthcare resource utilization (HCRU), healthcare costs, and treatment patterns in ruxolitinib-treated patients with MF with and without anemia in Annals of Hematology.¹

The analysis utilized healthcare claims data from the IQVIA PharMetrics Plus database for 481 patients (anemic, n = 257; non-anemic, n = 224) diagnosed with primary or secondary MF with ≥1 ruxolitinib claim at or after MF diagnosis between January 2011 and December 2022.¹ The median follow-up was 2 years (range, 0.2–9.1 years).¹  

Anemic patients had numerically higher median annual total medical costs ($44,830 vs $12,017; p = 0.638) and healthcare costs ($198,491 vs $170,419; p = 0.549), but significantly lower median total pharmacy costs compared to non-anemic patients ($129,381 vs $136,686; p < 0.050).

This analysis shows that anemic patients with MF have higher HCRU vs non-anemic patients, suggesting a need for alternative treatments for these patients to reduce medical resource burden. An investigation of baseline comorbidities and other confounders affecting HCRU and costs may offer further insights.