What is Polycythemia Vera?

📘 For polycythemia vera and other myeloproliferative disorders, you can view and download an excellent free guide at nccn.org.

❓ What is polycythemia vera (PV)?

✳️ It is a blood cancer, one of the types of chronic leukemia, that affects the bone marrow. The marrow produces too many blood cells — red blood cells (carrying oxygen with hemoglobin), white blood cells (protecting from infection), and platelets (stopping bleeding).

🙅‍♂️ At first glance, it may seem good to have “more of everything.” But too much is harmful: elevated blood counts cause significant problems.

❓ What problems can it cause? ✔️ Headaches, weakness, dizziness ✔️ Excessive sweating ✔️ Severe itching, especially after rubbing the skin following a warm bath or shower ✔️ Joint pain; gout may develop with severe pain in the big toe and other joints ✔️ Burning pain in hands and feet, sometimes with redness or bluish discoloration ✔️ High risk of thrombosis and bleeding (paradoxically, very high platelet counts increase bleeding risk) ✔️ Vision problems (dark spots, sparks, flashes of light) ✔️ Upper abdominal pain, early satiety due to enlarged spleen

❓ How is PV diagnosed? ✳️ Two main groups of tests:

Bone marrow biopsy (trephine biopsy)

Genetic markers, most commonly the JAK2 mutation

❓ How is PV treated? ✔️ Phlebotomy (blood removal) ✔️ Low-dose aspirin ✔️ Medications that suppress overproduction of red cells, such as:

Hydroxyurea

Interferon-alpha

Busulfan

JAK2 inhibitors (in certain cases, gradually being introduced as second-line therapy)

💊👩🏼‍⚕️ The doctor will help determine the best medication.

🔥 What else is important when choosing treatment? 🙈 The risk of clots and heart attacks is higher in smokers, people with high blood pressure, or overweight. It is important to follow your doctor’s advice on risk control. 🙊 Always mention any new symptoms or problems that occur during treatment. 🙉 Treatment involves making many decisions, such as which therapy and when.

Always share your thoughts about treatment with your doctors and nurses.

🛑 Whenever treatment is proposed, ask: 💓 What are the benefits of this treatment? Will it help me live longer? 💓 Will it reduce or prevent symptoms? 💓 What are the downsides of this treatment? 💓 Are there alternatives? 💓 What happens if I don’t receive this treatment?

ITP: Where Does Treatment Begin? F2, F5 Mutations and Recurrent Pregnancy Loss: New Data