Among patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs), arterial thrombosis incidence appears to raise the risk of second cancers (SCs) and consequently, mortality, according to an analysis published in Blood Cancer Journal. Inflammatory biomarkers in these diseases suggest a more aggressive disease etiology, the authors added.
In the case of polycythemia vera (PV) or essential thrombocythemia (ET), previous research suggested that thrombosis may heighten the risk of progression to secondary myelofibrosis, which has a high mortality rate. For this retrospective analysis of MPN-patient data, researchers aimed to determine the elements of thrombosis that promote this risk.
Overall, data were evaluated from 1545 patients with PV, 891 patients with ET, 180 patients who were pre-primary myelofibrosis (PMF), and 707 patients with PMF. The median follow-up periods in the PV, ET, pre-PMF, and PMF groups were 5.6 months, 5.6 months, 6.1 months, and 2.92 months, respectively; 19%, 12%, 15%, and 7% of patients had a thrombosis event.
Analysis of the patient data showed that arterial, but not venous or splanchnic, thrombosis was linked with a greater risk of SCs (odds ratio [OR], 2.53; 95% CI, 2.4-5.17). A white blood cell count of at least 11 x 109/L appeared to trend toward a greater risk of SCs, but this link was not significant (OR, 1.27; 95% CI, 0.96-1.67); this was also true of a PMF vs ET diagnosis (OR, 2.54; 95% CI, 0.97-6.61).