Myelodysplastic/ Myeloproliferative Neoplasms

Myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN) are blood disorders in which the bone marrow, the spongy red material located in the center of most bones, generally makes too many blood cells.

Conditions that fall under the umbrella of myeloproliferative blood disorder are:

• Chronic eosinophilic leukemia: The bone marrow makes too many of a type of white blood cell called eosinophils.
• Chronic myelogenous leukemia: The bone marrow makes too many of a type of white blood cell called granulocytes.
• Chronic neutrophilic leukemia: The bone marrow makes too many of a type of white blood cell called neutrophils.
• Essential thrombocythaemia (ET): The bone marrow makes too many platelets, which are responsible for forming clots.
• Myelofibrosis: The bone marrow produces too much collagen or fibrous tissue, which reduces the bone marrow's production of blood cells. The spleen and liver take over blood cell production but cannot make enough blood cells, causing a low blood count.
• Polycythaemia vera (PV): The bone marrow makes too many red blood cells.

The treatment for myeloproliferative neoplasm depends on the type and severity of the disorder and your age and general health. Sometimes, you don't need to start treatment immediately but you'll require regular check-ups to monitor the condition.

Chemotherapy is sometimes used to treat a myeloproliferative blood disorder. If you have myelofibrosis, you may require blood transfusions to increase the number of circulating blood cells. If you have polycythemia vera, you may have red cells removed to reduce the thickness (or viscosity) of your blood.

Myelodysplastic Neoplasms

Myelodysplastic neoplasms (also called myelodysplastic syndromes) are blood disorders in which blasts or immature blood stem cells in the bone marrow die before they mature. As a result, the body doesn't have enough healthy red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets.

Myelodysplastic neoplasms include various types of refractory anemia. Treatment options for myelodysplastic neoplasms depend on:

• Whether the condition has progressed despite treatment
• Whether the condition occurred after chemotherapy or radiation therapy for another disease
• Your age and general health.

Your myelodysplastic syndrome prognosis depends on:

• Changes (mutations) in the chromosomes
• Number of blast cells in the bone marrow and peripheral blood
• Types of blood cells affected
• Whether the condition occurred after chemotherapy or radiation therapy for another disease.

The three types of standard treatment for myelodysplastic syndrome, according to the University of Minnesota's Masonic Cancer Center (2005b), are chemotherapy, supportive care such as blood transfusion or drug therapy and stem cell transplants.

Myelodysplastic/Myeloproliferative Neoplasms

Myelodysplastic/myeloproliferative neoplasms have features of both myelodysplastic syndromes and myeloproliferative disorders. The three main types are:

• Atypical chronic myelogenous leukemia (aCML)
• Chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML)
• Juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia (JMML).

The standard treatments for myelodysplastic/myeloproliferative neoplasms are chemotherapy, supportive care, drug therapy and stem cell transplants.

Resources

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