The comorbidity burden is an important risk factor for overall survival (OS) in several hematological malignancies. This observational prospective study was conducted to evaluate the impact of individual comorbidities on survival in a multicenter series of 668 patients with primary myelofibrosis (PMF) or MF secondary to polycythemia vera (PPV-MF) or essential thrombocythemia (PET-MF). Hypertension (hazard ratio (HR) = 4.96, p < 0.001), smoking (HR = 5.08, p < 0.001), dyslipidemia (HR = 4.65, p < 0.001) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) (HR = 4.26, p = 0.015) were most adversely associated with OS. Diabetes (HR = 3.01, p < 0.001), pulmonary disease (HR = 3.13, p < 0.001) and renal dysfunction (HR = 1.82, p = 0.037) were also associated with an increased risk of death. Multivariate analysis showed that pulmonary disease (HR = 2.69, p = 0.001), smoking (HR = 3.34, p < 0.001), renal dysfunction (HR = 2.08, p = 0.043) and HCV (HR = 11.49, p = 0.001) had a negative impact on OS. When ruxolitinib exposure was included in the model, the effect of each comorbidity on survival was modified. Therefore, individual comorbidities should be taken into account in determining the survival prognosis for patients with MF.
Keywords: comorbidities; myelofibrosis; prognosis; survival.