Chronic Myeloproliferative Disorders

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…)

Teardrop red cells

The four main myeloproliferative disorders share several similarities such as a hypercellular marrow, a high white count with a left shift, and splenomegaly. (more…)

Four similarities shared by all myeloproliferative disorders

There are four major types of myeloproliferative disorders: chronic myeloid leukemia, chronic myelofibrosis, polycythemia vera, and essential thrombocythemia. (more…)

How to tell apart CML and benign neutrophilia

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…)