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Ruxolitinib

Editor: Ghufran Adnan Updated: 6/5/2023 8:31:47 PM

Indications

Ruxolitinib is a janus-activated kinase inhibitor (JAK) that selectively inhibits the JAK1 and JAK2 protein kinases.[1] It is an oral medication approved by the FDA to treat high-risk myelofibrosis, patients with polycythemia vera who are intolerant or resistant to hydroxyurea, and steroid-refractory acute graft-versus-host disease.[1][2][3] In 2011, based on the results from both the COMFORT–I and COMFORT–II trials, the FDA approved ruxolitinib as a treatment for myelofibrosis. At the time, it was the only therapy approved for treating intermediate and high-risk myelofibrosis.[4] 

In 2019 the FDA approved ruxolitinib for steroid-refractory acute graft-versus-host disease for patients older than 12 years old based on the results from STUDY INCB 18424-271, which was a trial involving forty-nine patients. This approval made ruxolitinib the first-ever FDA-approved drug for patients with steroid-refractory acute graft-versus-host disease.[5] Ruxolitinib is recently being studied as a potential treatment for coronavirus disease; however, this is still ongoing with no firm approval.[6][7]

In September of 2021, the FDA approved a ruxolitinib cream formulation to treat mild to moderate atopic dermatitis, making this the first topical janus kinase inhibitor approved for use on the US market.[8]

Other therapeutic indications for which ruxolitinib is being researched include alopecia areata, plaque psoriasis, peripheral T-cell lymphoma, and relapsed diffuse large T-cell lymphoma.[9][10]

Mechanism of Action

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Mechanism of Action

Ruxolitinib falls under the drug class known as janus kinase inhibitors (JAK Inhibitors). It is an inhibitor of the JAK1 and JAK2 protein kinases and works by competitively inhibiting the ATP-binding catalytic site on JAK1 and JAK2.[4] The result of this inhibition is disruption of cytokine and growth factor signaling pathways, leading to a decrease in proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines, which are usually elevated in myelofibrosis and other inflammatory conditions. Furthermore, JAK1 is involved in regulating interleukin 2 and 6 and TNF alpha, while JAK2 is involved with many cellular functions that include proliferation and differentiation.

Due to its anti-JAK activity, ruxolitinib has been reported to improve splenomegaly seen in myelofibrosis and other constitutional symptoms such as fevers, pruritus, and night sweats. However, ruxolitinib is not known to alter the actual bone marrow or cause prolonged survival in myelofibrosis.[4] Moreover, in mice models, ruxolitinib has been shown to reduce inflammation as well as decrease T-cell activation and neutrophil activity.[11]

The drug has a half-life of 3 hours for the parent drug and approximately 6 hours for its active metabolites. It is hepatically metabolized via the CYP450 enzymatic pathway, specifically CYP2C9 and CYP3A4. It is mostly excreted in the urine (75%) and to a lesser extent in the feces (approximately 20%.)[12]

Administration

Ruxolitinib is taken orally and is available in 5 mg, 10 mg, 15 mg, 20 mg, and 25 mg tablets. The dosing regimen is based on the patient’s individual situation as well as blood results. For example, when treating myelofibrosis, the dose is dependent on the patient’s baseline platelet counts. Patients with myelofibrosis who have a platelet count between 50 to 100 x 10^9/L can take up to a maximum of 5 mg twice daily, while patients with a platelet count of above 100 x 10^9/L can take a maximum of 15 mg twice daily.

In contrast, patients with polycythemia vera should be started on 10 mg twice daily as a starting dose. In non-responders dose can be increased to 25 mg twice daily if hemoglobin, neutrophil counts, and platelets are normal. It is important to keep in mind that ruxolitinib should not be taken with grapefruit or grapefruit juice due to possible interaction causing increased exposure to ruxolitinib; however, patients can take it with other food or without depending on patient preference.[13]

Dosing for acute graft-versus-host disease is 5 to 10 mg orally twice daily, starting a 5 mg twice daily for 3 days, then increasing to 10 mg twice daily. For chronic graft-versus-host disease, the recommended dosing is 10 mg twice daily. Dose adjustments may be necessary for patients who have failed prior treatment based on their bilirubin, ANC, or platelet responses.[14]

Clinicians need to consult advanced prescribing information in cases of renal or hepatic impairment. In dialysis patients, dosing should be after dialysis on dialysis days.[15]

Ruxolitinib may also be used in pediatric patients with graft-versus-host disease; dosing is similar to adult dosing, and the clinician should consult package inserts for the most precise dosing and adjustments based on hepatic or renal status in pediatric patients.[15]

Adverse Effects

During the COMFORT trials, the most common nonhematologic adverse events included ecchymosis, headache, dizziness, abdominal pain, fatigue, and diarrhea. The most common hematological adverse events seen with ruxolitinib during the trials included anemia and thrombocytopenia due to the inhibition of JAK2, which plays a role in erythropoietin and thrombopoietin signaling.[13] Other potentially serious hematologic adverse events include anemia and neutropenia. 

It has been reported that patients taking ruxolitinib experience higher rates of herpes zoster infection and basal-cell and squamous-cell carcinomas.[16] One study analyzing ruxolitinib in patients with steroid-refractory acute graft-versus-host disease mentioned patients developing anemia, thrombocytopenia, and cytomegalovirus infection while on ruxolitinib.[17]

Contraindications

There are few specific contraindications when it comes to prescribing ruxolitinib; however, there are medications and foods that should be used with caution alongside ruxolitinib. For example, as previously mentioned, grapefruit and grapefruit juice should not be taken alongside ruxolitinib due to possible interaction. Further, when taking potent CYP3A4 inhibitors such as clarithromycin, nelfinavir, and voriconazole alongside ruxolitinib, the ruxolitinib dose should be reduced as all these medications cause increased exposure to ruxolitinib. Careful consideration is necessary when fluconazole is taken alongside ruxolitinib as it inhibits both CYP3A4 and CYP2C9 and causes increased exposure to ruxolitinib. Hence, the dose of fluconazole should not exceed 200 mg daily when taken alongside ruxolitinib.[13]    

Other drug contraindications include concomitant ruxolitinib use with live vaccines.

Ruxolitinib is contraindicated in patients whose creatinine clearance is below 15 and who are not on hemodialysis. Patients should not breastfeed during treatment and for two weeks following discontinuation of treatment.[18]

Clinicians need to exercise caution when prescribing ruxolitinib to patients who smoke or are past smokers, those with a creatinine clearance below 60, patients with hepatic impairment, and those with infection risks, particularly TB-related risk.

Monitoring

Patients starting or continuing ruxolitinib need to be monitored in multiple domains. Due to the increased risk of infection, all patients require monitoring for signs of infection throughout treatment while taking ruxolitinib. Studies have shown increased rates of urinary tract infections, hepatitis, pneumonia, tuberculosis, and herpes zoster infection; therefore, clinicians should keep this in mind, and patients should be screened for signs of infection.[19] Clinicians should perform tuberculosis screening in high-risk patients to investigate for any active or latent tuberculosis infection prior to starting ruxolitinib treatment.

It is also recommended to check the patient's complete blood count in individuals with myelofibrosis before starting ruxolitinib and continue to check this every two to four weeks until the dose of ruxolitinib has stabilized. Once drug levels have stabilized, a complete blood count only needs to be done every eight to twelve weeks or when clinical suspicion warrants it.[13]

Toxicity

Toxicities that may accompany therapy with ruxolitinib include hematological toxicities, which encompass cytopenia and anemia. In one study looking at the efficacy of ruxolitinib in patients with corticosteroid-refractory graft-versus-host disease when cytopenia occurred, it required a dose reduction, interruption in treatment, or permanent cessation of ruxolitinib.[19] Furthermore, when patients’ platelet count drops below 50 x 10^9/L with an original baseline greater than 100 x 10^9/L, ruxolitinib needs to be stopped to avoid further toxicity. The same can be said for patients with a baseline platelet count of 50 x 10^9/L that drops below 25 x 10^9/L. Ruxolitinib can be restarted once counts normalize.

Also, during the COMFORT trials, hemoglobin levels in patients decreased in the first eight to twelve weeks; however, levels improved after twelve weeks. Moreover, patients with renal impairment should reduce their ruxolitinib dose, as should patients with hepatic impairment.[13] Lastly, one study examining the relationship between ruxolitinib and cardiac repolarization found no evidence of ruxolitinib affecting the QT interval.[20]

Enhancing Healthcare Team Outcomes

Ruxolitinib is a medication that is currently being used to treat several different medical conditions and was the first medication for treating patients with steroid-refractory acute graft-versus-host disease. Hence, all healthcare professionals should be aware of its indications and monitoring requirements.

Due to the adverse effects and hematological toxicities associated with ruxolitinib, patients need to be monitored closely by all interprofessional healthcare team members, including clinicians (MDs and DOs), mid-level practitioners (NPs and PAs), nurses, and pharmacists. Due to hematological toxicities, it is crucial to monitor complete blood count in these patients until ruxolitinib doses stabilize. All team members should also ask patients about possible signs of infection due to increased infection rates with ruxolitinib so that ruxolitinib can be stopped if necessary. Nurses should also be able to answer questions about medication administration and serve as a contact point for when patients or other team members need to contact the prescribing clinician. Pharmacists will perform medication reconciliation and reinforce patient counseling points, including proper dosing and watching for potential adverse events. If they encounter any interactions or notice adverse events, they must immediately report these to the nursing staff so the clinician can adjust therapy as necessary.

By working together, the interprofessional healthcare team can allow for optimal treatment and monitoring that will enable patients to carry through with their long-term treatment with ruxolitinib. [Level 5]

References


[1]

Lussana F, Cattaneo M, Rambaldi A, Squizzato A. Ruxolitinib-associated infections: A systematic review and meta-analysis. American journal of hematology. 2018 Mar:93(3):339-347. doi: 10.1002/ajh.24976. Epub 2017 Dec 4     [PubMed PMID: 29150886]

Level 1 (high-level) evidence

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Ajayi S, Becker H, Reinhardt H, Engelhardt M, Zeiser R, von Bubnoff N, Wäsch R. Ruxolitinib. Recent results in cancer research. Fortschritte der Krebsforschung. Progres dans les recherches sur le cancer. 2018:212():119-132. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-91439-8_6. Epub     [PubMed PMID: 30069628]


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Modi B, Hernandez-Henderson M, Yang D, Klein J, Dadwal S, Kopp E, Huelsman K, Mokhtari S, Ali H, Malki MMA, Spielberger R, Salhotra A, Zain J, Cotliar J, Parker P, Forman S, Nakamura R. Ruxolitinib as Salvage Therapy for Chronic Graft-versus-Host Disease. Biology of blood and marrow transplantation : journal of the American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation. 2019 Feb:25(2):265-269. doi: 10.1016/j.bbmt.2018.09.003. Epub 2018 Sep 8     [PubMed PMID: 30201397]


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Mascarenhas J, Hoffman R. Ruxolitinib: the first FDA approved therapy for the treatment of myelofibrosis. Clinical cancer research : an official journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. 2012 Jun 1:18(11):3008-14. doi: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-11-3145. Epub 2012 Apr 2     [PubMed PMID: 22474318]


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Przepiorka D, Luo L, Subramaniam S, Qiu J, Gudi R, Cunningham LC, Nie L, Leong R, Ma L, Sheth C, Deisseroth A, Goldberg KB, Blumenthal GM, Pazdur R. FDA Approval Summary: Ruxolitinib for Treatment of Steroid-Refractory Acute Graft-Versus-Host Disease. The oncologist. 2020 Feb:25(2):e328-e334. doi: 10.1634/theoncologist.2019-0627. Epub 2019 Oct 22     [PubMed PMID: 32043777]

Level 2 (mid-level) evidence

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Goker Bagca B, Biray Avci C. The potential of JAK/STAT pathway inhibition by ruxolitinib in the treatment of COVID-19. Cytokine & growth factor reviews. 2020 Aug:54():51-62. doi: 10.1016/j.cytogfr.2020.06.013. Epub 2020 Jun 20     [PubMed PMID: 32636055]


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Cao Y, Wei J, Zou L, Jiang T, Wang G, Chen L, Huang L, Meng F, Huang L, Wang N, Zhou X, Luo H, Mao Z, Chen X, Xie J, Liu J, Cheng H, Zhao J, Huang G, Wang W, Zhou J. Ruxolitinib in treatment of severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): A multicenter, single-blind, randomized controlled trial. The Journal of allergy and clinical immunology. 2020 Jul:146(1):137-146.e3. doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2020.05.019. Epub 2020 May 26     [PubMed PMID: 32470486]

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[8]

. Ruxolitinib (Opzelura) for atopic dermatitis. The Medical letter on drugs and therapeutics. 2022 Jan 24:64(1642):12-13     [PubMed PMID: 35134043]

Level 3 (low-level) evidence

[9]

Mesa RA. Ruxolitinib, a selective JAK1 and JAK2 inhibitor for the treatment of myeloproliferative neoplasms and psoriasis. IDrugs : the investigational drugs journal. 2010 Jun:13(6):394-403     [PubMed PMID: 20506062]

Level 3 (low-level) evidence

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Falto-Aizpurua L, Choudhary S, Tosti A. Emerging treatments in alopecia. Expert opinion on emerging drugs. 2014 Dec:19(4):545-56. doi: 10.1517/14728214.2014.974550. Epub 2014 Oct 21     [PubMed PMID: 25330928]

Level 3 (low-level) evidence

[11]

Albeituni S, Verbist KC, Tedrick PE, Tillman H, Picarsic J, Bassett R, Nichols KE. Mechanisms of action of ruxolitinib in murine models of hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis. Blood. 2019 Jul 11:134(2):147-159. doi: 10.1182/blood.2019000761. Epub 2019 Apr 23     [PubMed PMID: 31015190]


[12]

Al-Ali HK, Griesshammer M, le Coutre P, Waller CF, Liberati AM, Schafhausen P, Tavares R, Giraldo P, Foltz L, Raanani P, Gupta V, Tannir B, Ronco JP, Ghosh J, Martino B, Vannucchi AM. Safety and efficacy of ruxolitinib in an open-label, multicenter, single-arm phase 3b expanded-access study in patients with myelofibrosis: a snapshot of 1144 patients in the JUMP trial. Haematologica. 2016 Sep:101(9):1065-73. doi: 10.3324/haematol.2016.143677. Epub 2016 May 31     [PubMed PMID: 27247324]


[13]

Bryan JC, Verstovsek S. Overcoming treatment challenges in myelofibrosis and polycythemia vera: the role of ruxolitinib. Cancer chemotherapy and pharmacology. 2016 Jun:77(6):1125-42. doi: 10.1007/s00280-016-3012-z. Epub 2016 Mar 26     [PubMed PMID: 27017614]


[14]

Le RQ, Wang X, Zhang H, Li H, Przepiorka D, Vallejo J, Leong R, Ma L, Goldberg KB, Pazdur R, Theoret MR, De Claro A. FDA Approval Summary: Ruxolitinib for Treatment of Chronic Graft-Versus-Host Disease after Failure of One or Two Lines of Systemic Therapy. The oncologist. 2022 Jun 8:27(6):493-500. doi: 10.1093/oncolo/oyac042. Epub     [PubMed PMID: 35363318]


[15]

Chen X, Shi JG, Emm T, Scherle PA, McGee RF, Lo Y, Landman RR, Punwani NG, Williams WV, Yeleswaram S. Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of orally administered ruxolitinib (INCB018424 phosphate) in renal and hepatic impairment patients. Clinical pharmacology in drug development. 2014 Jan:3(1):34-42. doi: 10.1002/cpdd.77. Epub 2013 Oct 19     [PubMed PMID: 27128228]


[16]

Vannucchi AM, Kiladjian JJ, Griesshammer M, Masszi T, Durrant S, Passamonti F, Harrison CN, Pane F, Zachee P, Mesa R, He S, Jones MM, Garrett W, Li J, Pirron U, Habr D, Verstovsek S. Ruxolitinib versus standard therapy for the treatment of polycythemia vera. The New England journal of medicine. 2015 Jan 29:372(5):426-35. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1409002. Epub     [PubMed PMID: 25629741]

Level 1 (high-level) evidence

[17]

Zeiser R, von Bubnoff N, Butler J, Mohty M, Niederwieser D, Or R, Szer J, Wagner EM, Zuckerman T, Mahuzier B, Xu J, Wilke C, Gandhi KK, Socié G, REACH2 Trial Group. Ruxolitinib for Glucocorticoid-Refractory Acute Graft-versus-Host Disease. The New England journal of medicine. 2020 May 7:382(19):1800-1810. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1917635. Epub 2020 Apr 22     [PubMed PMID: 32320566]


[18]

. Ruxolitinib. Drugs and Lactation Database (LactMed®). 2006:():     [PubMed PMID: 29999923]


[19]

Abedin S, McKenna E, Chhabra S, Pasquini M, Shah NN, Jerkins J, Baim A, Runaas L, Longo W, Drobyski W, Hari PN, Hamadani M. Efficacy, Toxicity, and Infectious Complications in Ruxolitinib-Treated Patients with Corticosteroid-Refractory Graft-versus-Host Disease after Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation. Biology of blood and marrow transplantation : journal of the American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation. 2019 Aug:25(8):1689-1694. doi: 10.1016/j.bbmt.2019.04.003. Epub 2019 Apr 6     [PubMed PMID: 30965140]


[20]

Punwani N, Yeleswaram S, Chen X, Bowman J, Soloviev M, Williams W. Evaluation of the effect of ruxolitinib on cardiac repolarization: A thorough QT study. Clinical pharmacology in drug development. 2014 May:3(3):207-14. doi: 10.1002/cpdd.90. Epub 2014 Feb 6     [PubMed PMID: 27128611]