Polycythaemia vera (PV)
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Polycythaemia vera (PV) is a myeloproliferative, BCR-ABL1-negative neoplasms. Although hyperplasia of all three cell series (leukocytes, erythrocytes and thrombocytes; so-called panmyelosis) is usually present, Polycythaemia vera is characterized by a dominant proliferation of erythrocytes, which is why secondary erythrocytosis should always be excluded by differential diagnosis. Secondary erythrocytosis primarily caused by stress, smoking, cardiac causes and infections. The Polycythaemia vera variant with exclusive proliferation of the red cell series is called polycythaemia vera rubra, but occurs only very rarely. Furthermore, a "masked" form of Polycythaemia vera has been described, which has lower haemoglobin and haematocrit values than the form originally defined in the WHO 2008 (Barbui et al. 2014).
Characteristics of PV
Polycythaemia vera is clinically divided into two phases: A chronic phase (prepolycythemic and polycythemic phase), which is characterized by an overproduction of erythrocytes and associated elevated haemoglobin and haematocrit values. This is followed by the so-called late phase, in which the disease progresses into secondary myelofibrosis (post-PV myelofibrosis). After a median observation period of 10 years, the rate of post-PV MF is about 15%, after 20 years it is 50%. This is accompanied by cytopenia, extramedullary haematopoiesis in the spleen, liver and other organs, and consecutive splenomegaly. In a small proportion of patients (4%), a transition to an acceleration, also known as the blast phase (blast percentage 10-19%) or a blast crisis (blast percentage >20%) may occur (Alvarez-Larrán et al. 2009, Passamonti et al. 2010, Tefferi et al. 2013).
The annual incidence of PV is 0.01-2.8 / 100,000 inhabitants in Europe and North America and occurs predominantly in the median age range of 60-65 years (Swerdlow et al. 2017).
Classification of Polycythaemia vera
According to the WHO classification 2017, Polycythaemia vera belongs to the so-called BCR-ABL1 negative neoplasms. The clinical differentiation within myeloproliferative neoplasms is based on the detection of clonal erythrocytosis (see also criteria for the diagnosis of polycythaemia vera). A division into subgroups was not made within the WHO classification. In the current version of the WHO, the haemoglobin and haematocrit limits have been adjusted in order to also be able to diagnose cases with a so-called "masked" form at an early stage. However, it should be noted that there are currently no specific disease markers, molecular or otherwise, that can uniquely diagnose Polycythaemia vera, so a diagnosis should always be based on a combination of clinical and bone marrow histological findings.
Polycythaemia Vera WHO Classification 2017
Myeloproliferative Neoplasms (MPN)
Polycythaemia vera (PV):
Chronic phase (pre-polycythaemic and polycythaemic phase)
Late phase (post-PV myelofibrosis)
Diagnostic criteria for Polycythaemia vera
Major criteria
Elevated haemoglobin concentration (♂: >16.5 g/dL, ♀: >16g/dL) or elevated haematocrit (♂: >49%, ♀: >48%),*
Bone marrow biopse showing trilinear myeloproliferation with pleomorphic megakaryopoiesis
Presence of JAK2 gene (V617F or exon 12) mutation
Minor criteria
Subnormal serum erythropoietin level
The Polycythaemia vera diagnosis requires either all three main criteria or the first two main criteria and the secondary criterion.
* In cases with persistent erythrocytosis (♂: haemoglobin >18.5 g/dL or haematocrit >55.5%, ♀: haemoglobin >16.5 g/dL or haematocrit >49.5%), a bone marrow biopsy may not be required if a JAK2 mutation (major criterion 3) has been detected and the erythropoietin level (minor criterion) is reduced.
** The determination of erythrocyte mass with 51Cr-labelled erythrocytes allows the distinction between true polyglobulia and pseudopolyglobulia. This method is not routine in Germany. The gender-specific threshold values for haemoglobin defined in the WHO criteria have only established themselves to a limited extent in Germany. Relatively widespread use is made of an elevated haematocrit in both men and women.
95%
of patients with Polycythaemia vera have a JAK2 V617F mutation and round about 3% have a JAK2 Exon12 mutation
(Onkopedia guideline PMF).
Polycythaemia vera - Diagnostics
Prognosis and risk stratification of Polycythaemia vera
The prognosis varies greatly among Polycythaemia vera patients, which is why the risk factors that affect survival expectation are largely assessed individually for each patient. Untreated patients with Polycythaemia vera show an extremely shortened life expectancy (1.5 years) compared to treated patients (median survival between 14 and 19 years) (Tefferi et al. 2019). Arterial or venous thromboembolism is the most frequent cause of morbidity and death (40% in treated patients and 60% in untreated patients) followed by the complications of progression in the sense of secondary myelofibrosis or the development of a blast crisis (Gruppo italiano 1995, Chiewitz et al. 1962).
In more recent studies, retrospective analyses have been used to try to establish different prognostic scores for survival, but no really uniform picture has emerged, which is why risk stratification for therapy decisions continues to be based on the risk of thrombosis and prognostic models have developed primarily on the basis of clinical data (Bonicelli et al. 2013, Tefferi et al. 2013, Vannucchi et al. 2018 (see Table 2)). Thus, a distinction is often made between a high and a low risk of thrombosis. Assured risk factors for thromboembolism are: advanced age (≥60 years) and an arterial or venous thrombosis that has already occurred. Assured risk factors for a leukemic transformation are also advanced age (≥60 years), leukocytosis and aberrant karyotype.
Table 2: Risk stratification in patients with Polycythaemia vera
Variable | Risk categories | Endpoints of the score | Use for risk adapted therapy |
Age ≥ 60 Thrombosis (at or before diagnosis) | low (neither of these) high (both)risk of thrombosis | Yes | |
Age (57–66 years = 2 points) (67 ≥ years = 5 points) Leukocytes ≥15 x 109/l (= 1 point) Venous thrombosis (= 1 point) | low (0 points) Intermediate (1–2 points) high (≥ 3 points) | overall survival | No |
Leukocytosis JAK2 V617F allele burden Generic CV risk factors |
|
| Not yet formally in risk assessments included |
Tefferi et al. have also developed a prognostic three-step model using the parameters leukocyte count, age, venous thrombosis, leukoerythroblastic blood smears, thrombocytosis and itching. Patients with elevated leukocyte count, venous thrombosis and leukoerythroblastic blood smears showed a negative prognosis independent of age, while thrombocytosis and itching were associated with better survival. Within the system, points are also awarded which divide patients into low (0 points), intermediate (1 or 2 points) and high risk (≥ 3 points) groups. These points are awarded as follows: Age ≥67 years (5 points), age 57-66 years (2 points), leukocyte count ≥ 15 x 109/l (1 point) and venous thrombosis (1 point) (Tefferi et al. 2013).
However, since patients are primarily at risk of developing secondary myelofibrosis (SMF), the group around Passamonti developed a "Myelofibrosis Secondary to PV and ET-Prognostic Model (MYSEC-PM)", which classifies patients into a total of four risk categories with regard to overall survival: low (< 11 points), intermediate 1 (11 - 13 points), intermediate 2 (14 - 15 points) and high risk (≥ 16 points). The parameters listed in Table 3 were used for categorization and scoring: Age, haemoglobin values, platelet values, number of circulating blasts, no CALR mutation and constitutional symptoms (fever, weight loss, night sweats, etc.) (Passamonti et al. 2017).
Table 3: Results oft he multivariable analysis to define predictors of inferior survival in 685 annotated patients with post essential thrombocythemia and post polycythemia vera myelofibrosis
Covariates | HR | 95% CI | P Value | Risk coefficient Beta | Points assigned in the MYSEC-prognostic model |
Age at SMF diagnosis | 1.07 | 1.05–1.09 | <0.0001 | 0.068 | 0.15a |
Hemoglobin <11 g/dl | 2.3 | 1.6–3.3 | <0.0001 | 0.8 | 2 |
Platelets <150 × 109/l | 1.7 | 1.2–2.5 | 0.006 | 0.5 | 1 |
Circulating blast cells ≥3% | 2.9 | 1.8–4.8 | <0.0001 | 1.1 | 2 |
CALR-unmutated genotype | 2.6 | 1.2–5.3 | 0.001 | 0.9 | 2 |
Constitutional symptoms | 1.5 | 1.0–2.0 | 0.03 | 0.4 | 1 |
a Age-related risk points. They are listed (per year) for comparison with the other factors (0.15 points per patient’s year of age).
Cytogenetic prognostic factors in Polycythaemia vera
Recent studies show that patients with an aberrant karyotype have a significantly worse outcome than patients with a normal karyotype. At the same time, it was shown that during an increasing stage of the disease, i.e. transformation into secondary myelofibrosis or into an accelerated phase or blast crisis, complex aberrant karyotypes were increasingly observed (Tang et al. 2017, Tefferi et al. 2013). Based on these more recent findings, a cytogenetic examination was also increasingly recommended in specialist circles and guidelines at the initial diagnosis and during the course of the disease (Swerdlow et al. 2017).
Table 4: Cytogenetic abnormalities detected at the diagnosis (first bone marrow evaluation)
| Polycythemic phase (n=271) | Post-PV MF (n=112) | AB/BP Phase (n=39) | Total(n=422) |
Normal Karyotype | 217 (80%) | 62 (55%) | 4 (10%) | 283 (67%) |
Aberrant Karyotype | 54 (20%) | 50 (45%) | 35 (90%) | 139 (33%) |
Single abnormalities | 41 (76%) | 29 (58%) | 5 (14%) | 75 (54%) |
del(20q) | 18 | 12 | 1 | 31 |
+9 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
+8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 8 |
Andere (einfach) | 7 | 16 | 3 | 26 |
Two abnormalities | 9 (17%) | 9 (18%) | 6 (17%) | 24 (17%) |
+1q | 4 | 7 | 4 | 15 |
other (two times) | 5 | 2 | 2 | 9 |
Komplex | 4 (7%) | 12 (24%) | 24 (69%) | 40 (29%) |
del(5q)/-5 | 0 | 4 | 14 | 18 |
del(7q)/-7 | 1 | 2 | 15 | 18 |
del(17p)/-17/i(17q) | 1 | 4 | 9 | 14 |
Molecular genetic prognostic factors for Polycythaemia vera
To date, no general scoring system, such as MIPSS70+ for primary myelofibrosis, has been introduced for Polycythaemia vera, which includes clinical, cytogenetic and molecular genetic prognostic factors (Tefferi et al. (2) 2018).
In 96% of Polycythaemia vera patients a JAK2 mutation was found, which was a major breakthrough in the diagnosis of Polycythaemia vera, but initially did not show great prognostic relevance. In a more recent study, however, Passamonti et al. were able to show that a JAK2 V617F allelic load of over 50% seems to be associated with fibrotic transformation (Passamonti et al. 2010). In another study by Ortmann et al. it was found that the order in which two different mutations are acquired has a significant influence on the clinical course of the patients. In this case JAK2 V617Fund TET2 mutations were investigated: Patients with an initial JAK2 mutation showed a higher risk of thrombosis, while patients with an initial TET2 mutation presented a more indolent course (Ortmann et al. 2015).
Further studies investigated various mutations, both "driver" and "non-driver" mutations, in the course and influence of these mutations on overall survival and the likelihood of transformation into secondary myelofibrosis or a blast phase or blast crisis. If several mutations are already present in addition to one of the "driver" mutations at the time of initial diagnosis, this increases the risk of a blast phase. Furthermore, it was shown over the course of the study that significantly more mutations are acquired (25.6 mutations x 100 person-years) compared to patients who had a small number of additional mutations at initial diagnosis (1.7 mutations x 100 person-years). In addition, patients with additional mutations at initial diagnosis were more likely to develop cytopenia under hydroxyurea therapy and thus have a higher risk of developing AML. The following "non-driver" mutations were most frequently detected in Polycythaemia vera: TET2, DNMT3A, TP53 and ASXL1. Patients with ASXL1, TP53, SRSF2, IDH1/2 and RUNX1 showed a higher risk of transforming into AML, while mutations in SF3B1 and IDH1/2 and a high JAK2 V617F allelic load were associated with a higher risk of transforming into myelofibrosis (Senin et al. 2017, Tefferi et al. 2016).
Tabelle 5: „Non-Driver“ Mutations and their prognostic significance
Genes | |
Higher probability of developing cytopenia | DNMT3A, SRSF2, IDH1/2, RUNX1, TP53 |
Higher probability of mutation acquisition in the course | SRSF2, IDH1/2, RUNX1 Overall high number of mutations at initial diagnosis |
Significantly shorter survival | DNMT3A, SRSF2, SF3B1, IDH1/2, RUNX1 |
Higher probability of MF transformation (mutation at initial diagnosis) | SF3B1, IDH1/2 High JAK2 V617F allele load |
Higher probability of an AML transformation (mutation at initial diagnosis) | ASXL1, TP53, SRSF2, IDH1/2, RUNX1 Overall high number of mutations at initial diagnosis |
Polycythaemia vera - Recommendation
Besides the collection of clinical and laboratory chemical parameters, histological and cytomorphological examination of bone marrow and blood, cytogenetic analysis, and molecular genetic examinations (JAK2 V617F mutation, if negative, exon 12 of the JAK2 gene, if negative, CALR and MPL and non-driver mutations should also be examined) are recommended.