Changes to This Summary (07/29/2011)

The PDQ cancer information summaries are reviewed regularly and updated as new information becomes available. This section describes the latest changes made to this summary as of the date above.

Polycythemia Vera ¹

Added Tefferi et al. as reference 1 ².

Added text ³ to include pegylated interferon-alpha with interferon alpha in the treatment options and cited Quintás-Cardama as reference 18.

Primary Myelofibrosis ⁴

Added Tefferi et al. as reference 5 ⁵.

Added text ⁶ to state that fatal and nonfatal thrombosis was associated with age 60 years or older and JAK2 positivity in a multivariable analysis of 707 patients followed from 1973 to 2008 (cited Hussein et al. as reference 8).

Added Tam et al. as reference 12 ⁷.

Added Morel et al. as reference 13 ⁸. Also added text to the list of prognostic factors to include: age of 65 years of older; constitutional symptoms: fever, night sweats, or weight loss; circulating blasts of at least 1%.

Added Cervantes et al. as reference 14 ⁹. Also added that an international prognostic scoring system has been proposed by the Working Group for Myelofibrosis Research and Treatment.

Added text ¹⁰ to state that karyotype abnormalities can also affect prognosis and that as seen in a retrospective series of 200 patients, 13q and 20q deletions and trisomy 9 correlated with improved survival and no leukemia transformation in comparison to the trisomy 8 or a complex karyotype.

Added text ¹¹ to state that JAK2 inhibitors are being evaluated in randomized trials, and patients may be eligible even in the absence of a JAK2 mutation.

Added text ¹² to include clinical trials involving JAK2 inhibitors to the treatment options. To the allogeneic peripheral stem cell or bone marrow transplantation treatment option was added Kröger et al. as reference 32.

Added Quintás-Cardama et al. as reference 33 ¹².

Essential Thrombocythemia ¹³

Added Tefferi et al. as reference 1 ¹⁴.

Added text ¹⁵ to state that among low-risk patients, a retrospective review of 300 patients showed benefit for antiplatelet agents in reducing venous thrombosis in JAK2-positive cases and in reducing arterial thrombosis in patients with cardiovascular risk factors (cited Alvarez-Larrán et al. as reference 8).

Added text ¹⁶ to include pegylated interferon-alpha or interferon-alpha as treatment options (cited Quintás-Cardama et al. as reference 11).