History of the myeloproliferative neoplasms
The history of haematological malignancies appears to have begun in the sixteenth century as a result of astute clinical observations and the invention of medical microscopy. In the nineteenth century, the use of aniline-based dyes to stain human tissues facilitated the initial recognition of leukaemias, lymphomas, and myelomas as distinct nosological entities. The first detailed description of what is now referred to as chronic myeloid leukaemia, appeared in 1845, and the other ‘classic’ myeloproliferative neoplasms thereafter. Major progress in the therapy and the understanding of these malignancies, however, did not occur until the mid-twentieth century. Since the mid-1990s, these efforts have accelerated remarkably, resulting in the successful introduction of molecularly targeted therapies, and along with increased affordability and reliability of genomic profiling, have helped to usher in the era of precision medicine. In this chapter, we present a brief history of the biological and therapeutic milestones pertaining to myeloproliferative neoplasms.