BACKGROUND: Inborn errors of immunity (IEI) with dysregulated JAK/STAT signaling present with variable manifestations of immune dysregulation and infections. Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is potentially curative, but initially reported outcomes were poor. JAK inhibitors (JAKi) offer a targeted treatment option that may be an alternative or bridge to HSCT. However, data on their current use, treatment efficacy and adverse events (AE) are limited.

OBJECTIVE: We evaluated the current off-label JAKi treatment experience for JAK/STAT IEI among ESID/EBMT-IEWP centers.

METHODS: Multicenter retrospective study on patients with a genetic disorder of hyperactive JAK/STAT signaling, who received JAKi treatment for at least 3 months.

RESULTS: Sixty-nine patients (72% children) were evaluated (45 STAT1-GOF, 21 STAT3-GOF, 1 STAT5B-GOF, 1 SOCS1-LOF, 1 JAK1-GOF). Ruxolitinib was the predominantly prescribed JAKi (80%). Overall, treatment resulted in improvement (partial or complete remission) of clinical symptoms in 87% of STAT1-GOF and in 90% of STAT3-GOF patients. We documented very heterogeneous dosing and monitoring regimens. The response rate and time to response varied across different diseases and manifestations. AE (i.e. infections and weight gain) were frequent (38% of patients), but mild (grade I-II) and transient in most patients. At last follow-up, 52/69 (74%) of patients are still receiving JAKi treatment, while 11 patients eventually underwent HSCT following previous JAKi bridging therapy with a 91% overall survival.

CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggests that JAKi may be highly effective to treat symptomatic JAK/STAT-IEI patients. Prospective studies to define optimal JAKi dosing for the variable clinical presentations and age ranges should be pursued.