Srdan Verstovsek, MD, PhD: Leukocytosis in PV скачать в хорошем качестве

Srdan Verstovsek, MD, PhD: Leukocytosis in PV

Srdan Verstovsek, MD, PhD, oncologist at MD Anderson Cancer Center and professor in the Department of Leukemia, Houston, Texas, discusses his approach to assessing the complete individual. See more videos and a white paper from Dr Verstovsek, plus hear from other experts at ProgressiveLeukocytosis.com. PV is a chronic hematologic malignancy that in some patients may become advanced with progressively increasing blood counts, spleen size, or symptoms despite treatment with hydroxyurea and phlebotomy. In this Expert Insights content series, Dr Verstovsek highlights that, like elevated hematocrit, progressive leukocytosis contributes to thrombotic risk in patients with PV. In his practice, his goal is to actively monitor the complete patient. The goals of therapy in polycythemia vera are beyond just controlling the red blood cell count. The goal is to control the red blood cell count, white blood cell count, spleen, platelets, and symptoms. And follow a trend for a possible change. It is not the disease is always static. It does change over time. If there is a trend for a change, we may be talking about advanced polycythemia vera where we lose control of these factors. It is very important in every practice to pay attention when we treat polycythemia vera patients not only on a control of the red blood cell count in aiming for hematocrit below 45%, but also to look at the increased white blood cell count. This is now more or less a standard practice and it’s building our guidance how to manage polycythemia vera patients because there is a very large evidence from multiple reports that leukocytosis is a risk factor for thrombosis. White blood cell count in particular is a good target for therapy even in the cases where the red blood cell count is controlled well. Because of [notion] and now data showing that increase in white blood cell count is independent risk factor for thrombosis. Polycythemia vera has two aspects to it. One is the proliferation of the blood cell count. But the other aspect is inflammation that comes with polycythemia vera that can affect the wellbeing of the patients. After all, this is a myeloproliferative neoplasm that affects red blood cells, white cells, and platelets to equal extent, and is myeloproliferative but also inflammatory condition that leads to increased risk of thrombosis, but also to poor quality of life. Polycythemia vera related symptoms are something that we should be assessing in our everyday management of polycythemia vera patients. I’m talking about itching, night sweating, low-grade fever, abdominal fullness. Many times, the quality of life or presence of polycythemia vera symptoms is actually tied to uncontrolled proliferation. If you have increase in white cell count, you are required too many phlebotomies to decrease the red blood cell count – that is usually manifested in bad quality of life or polycythemia vera-related symptoms. MPN Connect is a trademark of Incyte. © 2018 Incyte Corporation. MAT-HEM-00291 11/18