{"id":376370,"date":"2026-04-01T11:29:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T11:29:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/376370\/"},"modified":"2026-04-01T11:29:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T11:29:10","slug":"myelofibrosis-no-longer-a-laggard-in-blood-cancer-survival-thanks-to-treatment-advances","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/376370\/","title":{"rendered":"Myelofibrosis no longer a laggard in blood cancer survival thanks to treatment advances"},"content":{"rendered":"

Five-year net survival for the rare disease has doubled in recent years but more research is needed to better understand the condition, writes Michael McHale<\/p>\n

While relatively uncommon, myelofibrosis patients thankfully face significantly better outcomes now than in years gone by.<\/p>\n

A type of cancer that disrupts the body\u2019s normal production of blood cells, myelofibrosis can cause extensive scarring in bone marrow, leading to severe anaemia that can cause weakness and fatigue.<\/p>\n

A report on blood cancers published by the National Cancer Registry (NCR) in 2024 highlighted the prevalence of the disease. Between 2012 and 2021, 129 cases of primary myelofibrosis were recorded in Ireland, representing just 0.6 per cent of all haematological malignancies in that period.<\/p>\n

The disease occurs most often between the ages of 50 and 70 and is most commonly found in men. In Ireland, the NCR data showed that almost twice as many men were diagnosed with the illness than women (83 cases in males versus 46 in females).<\/p>\n

Between 1994 and 2007, the proportion of patients with myelofibrosis to survive for at least five years was just 31 per cent, well below the then average survival rate of 53 per cent across all blood cancer types.<\/p>\n

However, major advances in treatments mean that primary myelofibrosis is among the top five haematological malignancies to see the greatest improvement in outcomes, with five-year net survival soaring to 61 per cent in the period from 2008 to 2021.<\/p>\n

This brings the disease much more closely aligned with the average survival rate for all blood cancers seen in that period (67 per cent).<\/p>\n

Between 1994 and 2007, the proportion of patients with myelofibrosis to survive for at least five years was just 31 per cent<\/p>\n

While allogeneic stem cell transplantation provides a possible curative treatment for myelofibrosis, the therapy is considered high-risk and therefore unsuitable in many cases \u2013 particularly when it may involve older patients.<\/p>\n

Ongoing scientific research is therefore crucial to understanding more about this rare condition. In Ireland, the MOSAICC trial is hoping to involve patients with advanced myelofibrosis and other myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) in a case-control study that aims to identify what causes these diseases.<\/p>\n

The trial also aims to assess the quality of life and unmet needs of those who suffer from these conditions.<\/p>\n

MOSAICC is a collaborative project between Queen\u2019s University Belfast and the University of Aberdeen.<\/p>\n

The study is being held across 20 sites around the UK and Ireland, including in Cork, Dublin and Limerick.<\/p>\n

The study has recruited over 600 patients with MPNs, making it the largest research project looking into these conditions that has ever been undertaken. Of these, around 50 to 100 have come from Irish clinics. A further 200 people without MPN were also recruited as a control group.<\/p>\n

As part of the study, each participant took part in an interview which discusses their medical history, occupation, and societal factors to determine if any associations can be spotted between their condition and a part of their overall health or lifestyle.<\/p>\n

The researchers also took samples from participants \u2013 of blood, saliva, and toenails.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can actually look at toenails and get them analysed so that you can see what chemicals people have been exposed to over the previous year or more,\u201d said Emeritus professor of haematology at Queen\u2019s, Mary Frances McMullin, who set up the study alongside chief investigator Prof Lesley Anderson of the University of Aberdeen.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe sample collection \u2013 it will take years to get through all this. But it\u2019s a very valuable collection to analyse genetic, and chemical factors that may be associated with MPNs.\u201d<\/p>\n

With a limited control group, recruitment of which was hindered by delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the research team hopes to also draw on other datasets across the UK and Ireland to help provide a comparison to the range of MPN subtypes represented in the case group.<\/p>\n

Among those participants with an MPN, the mean age at recruitment was 63, with an almost 50-50 split between male and female.<\/p>\n

Now retired, Prof McMullin has seen considerable change in how MPNS are treated now compared to the start of her career.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I started it was very much a case of \u2018you\u2019ve got this, we can diagnose it, but there\u2019s not much to do,\u201d she told Irish Medical Times.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut there\u2019s been huge advances, both in diagnostics \u2013 we\u2019ve now got lots of genetic tests that help us \u2013 and then, over the last 20 years we\u2019ve had a whole stream of medicines coming on board.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a conversation with patient support group MPN Voice in 2022, Dr Clodagh Keohane, a consultant haematologist at the Mercy University Hospital in Cork, discussed what she hopes the future holds for myelofibrosis and other MPNs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got much better at recognising and managing symptoms related to MPNs,\u201d she said. \u201cWhat I\u2019d really like to see, and I\u2019m sure I\u2019m not alone, is us making a big impact in terms of disease transformation and trying to change the progression of disease \u2013 to pull that back and aim for a cure.\u201d \"\"\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Five-year net survival for the rare disease has doubled in recent years but more research is needed to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":376371,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[2991,63410,103,61,60,168653,168654,168655],"class_list":["post-376370","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-blood","tag-blood-cancer","tag-health","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-mosaicc","tag-myelofibrosis","tag-myeloproliferative-neoplasms"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/376370","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=376370"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/376370\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/376371"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=376370"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=376370"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=376370"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}