title: Clinical significance of microcytosis in patients with primary myelofibrosis.
abstract: Microcytosis is a relatively frequent finding in primary myelofibrosis (PMF); however its prognostic significance is unknown. We identified factors associated with microcytosis in PMF and measured its impact on outcomes. Among 725 patients with PMF, 140 (19%) showed microcytosis. In multivariate analysis, factors associated with microcytosis were absence of prior therapy, low iron, low transferrin saturation (satTF), and splenomegaly. Among 375 untreated patients, low satTF and splenomegaly were associated with microcytosis. Overall, microcytosis was associated with a higher risk of transformation to leukemia (p=0.03), but not shorter leukemia-free survival. Microcytosis in PMF may be related to dysregulation of iron homeostasis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Leukemia, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, United States.
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Strati
authors.affiliation: Department of Leukemia, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, United States.
authors.forename: Naveen
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Pemmaraju
authors.affiliation: Department of Leukemia, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, United States.
authors.forename: Zeev
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Estrov
authors.affiliation: Department of Leukemia, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, United States.
authors.forename: Marylou
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cardenas-Turanzas
authors.affiliation: Department of Leukemia, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, United States.
authors.forename: Sherry
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pierce
authors.affiliation: Department of Leukemia, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, United States.
authors.forename: Kate J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Newberry
authors.affiliation: Department of Leukemia, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, United States.
authors.forename: Naval
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Daver
authors.affiliation: Department of Leukemia, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, United States.
authors.forename: Jorge
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cortes
authors.affiliation: Department of Leukemia, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, United States.
authors.forename: Hagop
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kantarjian
authors.affiliation: Department of Leukemia, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, United States. Electronic address: sverstov@mdanderson.org.
authors.forename: Srdan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Verstovsek
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D004909:Erythrocyte Indices; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D055728:Primary Myelofibrosis / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies
keywords: Iron homeostasis; Leukemia; Microcytosis; Primary myelofibrosis; Transferrin saturation