Minireviews
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2023. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Hepatol. Nov 27, 2023; 15(11): 1188-1195
Published online Nov 27, 2023. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v15.i11.1188
Risk of hepatitis B reactivation in patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms treated with ruxolitinib
Adeniyi Abraham Adesola, Matei-Alexandru Cozma, Yong-Feng Chen, Bahadar Singh Srichawla, Mihnea-Alexandru Găman
Adeniyi Abraham Adesola, Department of Medicine and Surgery, Faculty of Clinical Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria
Matei-Alexandru Cozma, Mihnea-Alexandru Găman, Faculty of Medicine, "Carol Davila" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest 050474, Romania
Matei-Alexandru Cozma, Department of Gastroenterology, Colentina Clinical Hospital, Bucharest 020125, Romania
Yong-Feng Chen, Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Medical College of Taizhou University, Taizhou 318000, Zhejiang Province, China
Bahadar Singh Srichawla, Department of Neurology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA 01655, United States
Mihnea-Alexandru Găman, Department of Hematology, Center of Hematology and Bone Marrow Transplantation, Fundeni Clinical Institute, Bucharest 022328, Romania
Mihnea-Alexandru Găman, Cellular and Molecular Pathology Department, Stefan S. Nicolau Institute of Virology, Romanian Academy, Bucharest 030304, Romania
Author contributions: Adesola AA, Cozma MA, Chen YF, Srichawla BS, Gaman MA reviewed the literature and drafted the manuscript; Bahadar SS, Cozma MA and Gaman MA provided overall intellectual input, reviewed the literature, and edited the final version of the manuscript; all authors approved the final version to be published.
Supported by Competitiveness Operational Programme (COP) A1.1.4. ID: P_37_798 MYELOAL-EDIAPROT, No. 149/26.10.2016, (MySMIS2014+: 106774).
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors declare no conflict of interest.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Mihnea-Alexandru Găman, Doctor, MD, PhD, Research Fellow, Researcher, Faculty of Medicine, "Carol Davila" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 8 Eroii Sanitari Boulevard, Bucharest 050474, Romania. mihneagaman@yahoo.com
Received: July 23, 2023
Peer-review started: July 23, 2023
First decision: September 15, 2023
Revised: October 23, 2023
Accepted: November 9, 2023
Article in press: November 9, 2023
Published online: November 27, 2023
Processing time: 123 Days and 20.5 Hours
Abstract

Classical Philadelphia-negative myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs), i.e., polycythemia vera, essential thrombocythemia, and primary/secondary myelofibrosis, are clonal disorders of the hematopoietic stem cell in which an uncontrolled proliferation of terminally differentiated myeloid cells occurs. MPNs are characterized by mutations in driver genes, the JAK2V617F point mutation being the most commonly detected genetic alteration in these hematological malignancies. Thus, JAK inhibition has emerged as a potential therapeutic strategy in MPNs, with ruxolitinib being the first JAK inhibitor developed, approved, and prescribed in the management of these blood cancers. However, the use of ruxolitinib has been associated with a potential risk of infection, including opportunistic infections and reactivation of hepatitis B. Here, we briefly describe the association between ruxolitinib treatment in MPNs and hepatitis B reactivation.

Keywords: Ruxolitinib; Myeloproliferative neoplasms; Hepatitis B; Polycythemia vera; Myelofibrosis; JAK inhibitor

Core Tip: The JAK inhibitor ruxolitinib has been approved for the treatment of classical Philadelphia-negative myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs), i.e., polycythemia vera, essential thrombocythemia and primary/secondary myelofibrosis. However, its use has been associated with a potential risk of opportunistic infections, including hepatitis B reactivation. Herein, we briefly overview the association between ruxolitinib treatment in MPNs and hepatitis B reactivation.