Cytogenetic abnormalities in essential thrombocythemia at presentation and transformation.
Cytogenetic abnormalities in patients with essential thrombocythemia (ET) are infrequent. Their role in survival of patients and disease transformation is not extensively studied. We describe cytogenetic abnormalities in 172 patients with ET at a single institution. At presentation nine (5.2%) patients had cytogenetic abnormality and three (1.7%) additional patients acquired them during follow-up. Survival of patients with cytogenetic changes at presentation did not differ when compared to the patients with normal karyotype. The more common were abnormalities of chromosome 9 (n = 4), 20 (n = 2), 5 (n = 2), and complex abnormalities (n = 2). Forty-one patients (23.8%) had additional cytogenetic tests performed for monitoring purposes during follow-up. Five patients (2.9%) with normal karyotype transformed to myelofibrosis (MF) without developing new cytogenetic changes at transformation. Two patients (1.2%) with normal karyotypes at presentation transformed to myelodysplastic syndrome and acute myeloid leukemia, respectively. Both acquired complex cytogenetic changes at the time of transformation. There is no rationale for repeating cytogenetic tests in ET patients on follow up, unless blood cell count changes suggest possible transformation.
Sever
Matjaz
M
Department of Leukemia, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Unit 428, 1515 Holcombe Blvd., Houston, TX, 77030, USA.
Kantarjian
Hagop
H
Department of Leukemia, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Unit 428, 1515 Holcombe Blvd., Houston, TX, 77030, USA.
Pierce
Sherry
S
Department of Leukemia, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Unit 428, 1515 Holcombe Blvd., Houston, TX, 77030, USA.
Jain
Nitin
N
Department of Leukemia, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Unit 428, 1515 Holcombe Blvd., Houston, TX, 77030, USA.
Estrov
Zeev
Z
Department of Leukemia, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Unit 428, 1515 Holcombe Blvd., Houston, TX, 77030, USA.
Cortes
Jorge
J
Department of Leukemia, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Unit 428, 1515 Holcombe Blvd., Houston, TX, 77030, USA.
Verstovsek
Srdan
S
Department of Leukemia, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Unit 428, 1515 Holcombe Blvd., Houston, TX, 77030, USA. sverstov@mdanderson.org.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001772:Blood Cell Count; D002471:Cell Transformation, Neoplastic / Q000235:genetics*; D002869:Chromosome Aberrations; D020732:Cytogenetic Analysis; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D015470:Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009190:Myelodysplastic Syndromes / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics; D055728:Primary Myelofibrosis / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics; D013920:Thrombocythemia, Essential / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics*; D055815:Young Adult