Chronic Myeloproliferative Disorders

Why does the plasma volume go up in polycythemia vera?

Q. Why does PV, plasma volume, rise in polycythemia vera? This seems counterintuitive. (more…)

If chronic myeloid leukemia is a chronic leukemia, why does it have immature cells?

Q. If the chronic leukemias have lots of mature cells, and the acute leukemias have immature cells, then how come chronic myeloid leukemia has lots of immature cells? Seems like it belongs in the acute leukemia category! (more…)

Are chronic myeloproliferative disorders really leukemias?

Q. I was wondering what the difference was between labeling something as a “leukemia” vs labeling it as a “chronic myeloproliferative disorder.” (more…)

Student questions about myeloproliferative disorders

Here are some real student questions about myeloproliferative disorders. You should always ask questions when you don’t understand something – preferably in lecture. (more…)

Leukocyte alkaline phosphatase

What if you had a blood smear in which you thought the diagnosis was chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), but you didn’t have access to a cytogenetic or molecular lab (to look for the Philadelphia chromosome or the bcr-abl translocation)? (more…)

Cytogenetics quiz

Many hematopoietic malignancies have characteristic cytogenetic changes, such as translocations or inversions. It’s important to know about these because they can be used for diagnosis in tough cases, and they often carry a prognostic significance. (more…)

We’ve talked already about how you’d differentiate chronic lymphocytic leukemia from a benign lymphocytosis. So how about the same thing for the myeloid series, namely, how do you tell apart chronic myeloid leukemia from a benign neutrophilia? (more…)

Polycythemia vera

Polycythemia vera (PV) is a chronic myeloproliferative disorder in which the red cells are the predominant lineage. Here are some typical student questions along with my answers. (more…)