Jerry L​e Pow Spivak, MD, professor of ​medicine and ​oncology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, director, Center for the Chronic Myeloproliferative Disorders, ​Johns Hopkins Medicine, discusses diagnosing essential thrombocythemia (ET).

Patients ​who present with high platelet counts ​could have a range of benign or malignant disorders, including polycythemia vera, ET, or primary myelofibrosis. Notably, ​patients with ET ​often have a normal lifespan​. As such, if a patient is asymptomatic, ​they do not require immediate therapeutic intervention, Spivak explains. However, these patients should be monitored closely ​for disease progression.

It is important to rule out other causes of high platelet counts, such as iron deficiency, infection, inflammation, or other comorbidities, prior to diagnosing a patient with ET, says Spivak. Should a patient have ET, next-generation sequencing can inform whether a mutation, such as 

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Jerry L​e Pow Spivak, MD, discusses diagnosing essential thrombocythemia. 

Dr. Spivak on Diagnosing Essential Thrombocythemia

Jerry L​e Pow Spivak, MD, professor of ​medicine and ​oncology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, director, Center for the Chronic Myeloproliferative Disorders, ​Johns Hopkins Medicine, discusses the prevalence of polycythemia vera ​(PV)

Although PV is a prevalent myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN), the optimal diagnostic strategy is not well defined, says Spivak. 

Notably, compared with other MPNs, patients with PV are at risk of thrombosis, Spivak says. Moreover, patients with PV often present with thrombosis, which recurs over the course of their disease. 

Since initial reports of PV in the late 1800s, a body of knowledge has been gained in the space. Although literature only dates back about 10 years, historic data ​should not be discounted, Spivak concludes.

Jerry L​e Pow Spivak, MD, discusses the prevalence of polycythemia vera.  








Jerry Le Pow Spivak, MD

Articles

Dr. Spivak on Diagnosing Essential Thrombocythemia

Dr. Spivak on the Prevalence of Polycythemia Vera