Myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN) incl. Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML)
The group of myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN) includes changes in the haematopoietic system which are characterized by an uncontrolled proliferation of certain cells in the blood. In contrast to acute leukemia, however, the cells are usually fully functional. For this reason, many patients are diagnosed as an incidental finding during a routine blood count check without any specific symptoms of the disease. In another group of patients, however, the diagnosis of MPNs is based on certain symptoms such as thrombosis, fatigue, night sweats or abdominal pain due to an enlarged spleen: Thrombosis, fatigue, fever, night sweats or abdominal pain due to an enlarged spleen.
What all MPNs have in common is that they often have a long and chronic course and can develop into acute leukemia with varying frequency after many years. Depending on which cell series of the blood (white blood cells, platelets or red blood cells) are affected, the following subtypes of MPNs can be distinguished:
- Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML)
- Polycythemia vera (PV)
- Essential thrombocythemia (ET)
- Primary myelofibrosis (PMF)
- Chronic neutrophilic leukemia (CNL)
- Chronic eosinophilic leukemia
In our clinic, we can reliably diagnose and treat all of these diseases using state-of-the-art methods and in collaboration with the pathology department at the USZ. Over 200 patients with MPN are currently being treated at our center. As specific changes in the genome of the cells have been discovered in recent years as the cause of some of the MPNs, new drugs for the treatment of MPNs have already been established. These drugs include, for example, imatinib (Gleevec) for the treatment of CML or ruxolitinib (Jakavi) for the treatment of myelofibrosis and polycythemia vera. In the meantime, there are other drugs with a similar efficacy profile for the treatment of CML. These drugs inhibit the MPN cells relatively specifically and are regularly used in our clinic. We are also taking part in clinical trials to improve the treatment of MPNs.
