Proposed criteria for response assessment in patients treated in clinical trials for myeloproliferative neoplasms in blast phase (MPN-BP): Formal recommendations from the post-myeloproliferative neoplasm acute myeloid leukemia consortium

Leukemic transformation (LT) of a myeloproliferative neoplasm (MPN) is associated with a dismal prognosis and no medical therapies have shown a survival improvement in patients with MPN in blast phase (MPN-BP). Effective therapies for the treatment of MPN-BP are a serious unmet need. Consensus response criteria do not exist for the treatment of patients with MPN-BP and this is necessary for the uniformed reporting of treatment response in clinical trials. We have identified relevant MPN and MPN-BP features in order to define treatment response categories that reflect hematological, clinical, pathological, cytogenetic and molecular changes after therapeutic intervention. We plan to validate these proposed response criteria within multi-centered clinical trials. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.