Clinical Trials Can Open Doors for Patients With Myeloproliferative Neoplasms

Educating patients on the “risks and benefits” of clinical trials is a part of the pipeline for better treatment options in myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) in which nurses can engage, said a nurse practitioner.

For patients with MPNs, clinical trials have paved the way for better treatment outcomes, increasing options vastly within a short amount of time. In an interview with Oncology Nursing News, Kathryn Johnson, DNP, MSc, FNP-BC, spoke to the importance of the development of these options and nurses’ role in making those possible.

As Johnson, a clinical program manager at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai New York, outlined, nurses can play a key part in informing patients on what to expect on clinical trials. She advised not only being prepared with information patients should know, but making time for patients to air their concerns and ask questions as well.

Johnson added that in the time that she has been working in oncology, multiple advancements have been made in the treatment of MPNs. She expects this trend to continue in the coming years.

Transcript

A thorough presentation of the risks and benefits is fundamental of good clinical practice for patients going on to clinical trials. So when we do consenting, we make sure that patients have ample time for questions and opportunity to address concerns.

It doesn’t stop there, though. Throughout the course of their time on trial, however long that may be, we are constantly checking in to make sure [that] not only are we assessing the risk and benefit from the trial perspective, but also with the specific needs of the patients.

I think being positioned in a major academic institution by nature presents us with a lot of opportunities to give patients different pathways for care. So we routinely review the list of patients that we have and make sure that we’re going through what’s working for them, what’s not working for them, and then establishing a good connection to our network of providers in the community, so that they know if they want to look at something a little bit differently, that they can come to us.

I haven’t been in this field all that long in the spectrum of things, but just in the time that I’ve been doing this, I’ve already seen tremendous changes in what’s available to help patients. Stem cell transplant is the only known cure for MPNs, but I’m optimistic that in my lifetime, that will change.

One of my favorite graphs from a slide that I’ve presented is 1 that shows how much things have changed just in the last 15 years. We went from having zero JAK inhibitors to now there are 4, and that’s, for myelofibrosis, transformative. We can help patients live their lives better with more therapies on the market.

I’m very excited about the clinical trials that we have going on right now, and I expect that there will continue to be a lot more dedicated, brilliant, scientific minds working on even more options in the future. I think [there is the] potential for combination therapy. I’m optimistic that curative therapy will be [becoming] available. I think there’s a lot coming down the pipeline.

This transcript has been edited for clarity and conciseness.