JAK2 (V617F)-Positive Essential Thrombocythemia and Polycythemia Vera Are Different Expressions Of a Genotypic/Phenotypic Continuum

Blood ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 122 (21) ◽  
pp. 1592-1592
Author(s):  
Elisa Rumi ◽  
Daniela Pietra ◽  
Chiara Elena ◽  
Ilaria Casetti ◽  
Emanuela Sant 'Antonio ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Polycythemia Vera ◽  
Median Time ◽  
Essential Thrombocythemia ◽  
Cumulative Incidence ◽  
Mutant Allele ◽  
Clinical Phenotype ◽  
Jak2 V617f ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Allele Burden ◽  
Wbc Count

Abstract Background About 95% of patients with polycythemia vera (PV) and 60-70% of those with essential thrombocythemia (ET) carry the unique JAK2 (V617F) mutation. Previous observations suggest that JAK2 (V617F)-positive ET and PV form a biological continuum, in which the degree of erythrocytosis is determined by physiological and genetic factors. Aims In this work, we studied the natural history of JAK2 (V617F)-positive ET and PV with the aim of establishing whether the two disorders indeed represent different phenotypic expression of a genotypic/phenotypic continuum. Methods We identified 1269 patients diagnosed with ET or PV at our Division between 1980 and 2012, for whom at least one DNA sample was available. The JAK2 (V617F) mutation was assessed using allele-specific quantitative PCR. As patients carrying JAK2 exon 12 or MPL mutations were excluded, the final study population included 1214 patients, 719 of whom with ET (463 JAK2 mutated, 256 JAK2 wild-type) and 495 with PV. Results I: presenting features The clinical phenotype of ET patients at diagnosis differed according to JAK2 mutational status. JAK2 mutated ET presented with older age at diagnosis, higher hemoglobin (Hb) level and white blood cell (WBC) count, lower platelet (PLT) count and erythropoietin level compared to JAK2 wild-type ET (Wilcoxon rank-sum test: P<.001 in all comparisons). The median V617F allele burden was significantly lower in JAK2 mutated ET than in PV (18.4% vs 43.4%, P<.001). A mutant allele burden greater than 50% was observed in 2% of patients with JAK2 mutated ET and 41.5% of those with PV (Fisher exact test: P<.001). In both JAK2 mutated ET and PV, the mutant allele burden was directly related to WBC count and Hb level. Results II: PV evolution Evolution to PV was observed in 53 JAK2 mutated ET patients (incidence 95% CI: 1.4-2.4 per 100 p-years) vs none of the 256 JAK2 wild-type ET (incidence 95% CI: 0-0.2 per 100 p-years), resulting in a significantly different occurrence. The median time to PV evolution was 54 months (range 3.5-220). The cumulative incidence of PV evolution in JAK2 mutated ET patients at 15 years was 28.8% (95% CI: 20.7-37.3; Figure 1). PV evolution was significantly associated with higher JAK2 allele burden at diagnosis (Cox regression HR=1.04, P<.001). Based on the hypothesis that PV patients might have had a silent “pre-PV phase”, we did an ad hoc search for any complete blood count (CBC) collected before diagnosis. Among PV patients, 177 (36%) had a previous CBC, collected at a median time of 22 months (range 1-305) before PV diagnosis. A normal CBC was observed in 15% of patients; the remaining subjects showed thrombocytosis (≥450 x 109/L) and/or leukocytosis (≥10 x 109/L) and/or erythrocytosis. The median time to PV onset was significantly shorter in patients showing at least one CBC abnormality than in those with normal CBC (24 vs 48 months, P=.011). Results III: clinical course The median follow-up was 5.1 years (range, 0-32 years). JAK2-mutated ET and PV did not differ in terms of cumulative incidence of thrombosis (25.3% vs 33.7% at 15 years, P=.35; Figure 2A) and had similar overall survival (OS) (90.3% vs 82.6% at 15 years, P=.29; Figure 2B). Conversely, JAK2 wild-type ET showed a better OS in comparison with both JAK2 mutated ET (P=.028) and PV (P=.004) and a lower incidence of thrombosis (12.7% at 15 years) than JAK2 mutated ET (P=.002) and PV (P<.001). A similar cumulative incidence of disease progression (leukemia and myelofibrosis) was observed in JAK2 mutated (11.7% at 15 years) and JAK2 wild-type ET (12.1% at 15 years), whereas a higher cumulative incidence was observed in PV (26% at 15 years; P=.011 and P=.007 when compared with JAK2 mutated ET and JAK2 wild-type ET respectively). Conclusions This study supports the hypothesis that JAK2 mutated ET and PV are different expressions of a genotypic/phenotypic continuum, in which the mutant allele burden contributes to determine the clinical phenotype. The risk of progression from JAK2 mutated ET to PV is about 2% per year. This work was supported by grant #1005 from Associazione Italiana per la Ricerca sul Cancro (AIRC) “Special Program Molecular Clinical Oncology 5x1000” to AGIMM (AIRC-Gruppo Italiano Malattie Mieloproliferative - http:www-progettoagimm.it). Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Similar Rate of Thrombosis in Essential Thrombocythemia and Polycythemia Vera Patients after Stratification for JAK2 V617F Allele Burden.

Blood ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 112 (11) ◽  
pp. 1745-1745
Author(s):  
Alessandra Carobbio ◽  
Guido Finazzi ◽  
Elisabetta Antonioli ◽  
Paola Guglielmelli ◽  
Alessandro M. Vannucchi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Polycythemia Vera ◽  
Essential Thrombocythemia ◽  
Vascular Complications ◽  
Jak2 V617f ◽  
Similar Rate ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Allele Burden ◽  
Real Time Quantitative Pcr ◽  
Venous Thromboembolic

Abstract Patients with Essential Thrombocythemia (ET) can be categorized as either JAK2 V617F mutated (V617F+) or wild type (V617F−). Mutated patients display multiple features resembling Polycythemia Vera (PV), with significantly higher hemoglobin level and neutrophil counts, lower platelet count, more pronounced bone marrow erythropoiesis and granulopoiesis and higher tendency to transform in PV. Presence of the mutation and/or allele burden has been variably associated with the rate of vascular complications in ET and PV, but a direct comparison between the two disorders under this respect has not been performed. To tackle this issue, we compared the rate of major thrombosis in 867 ET patients (57% were JAK2 V617F+) with that in 415 PV patients (all V617F+). The median follow-up was 4.9 (0 – 39) and 3.8 (0 – 26) years in ET and PV, respectively. High risk ET patients (age ≥ 60 years and/or previous thrombosis) received Hydroxyurea whereas the vast majority of low-risk remained untreated. PV patients were treated according to the current risk-stratified recommendations. Thrombotic episodes were recorded over time and calculated as rates % per patient/year (pt/yr). After adjusting for age, the thrombosis-free survival curves of JAK2 V617F+ and V617F− ET patients were superimposable until 10 years after the diagnosis, then they diverged so that the actuarial probability of major thrombosis in mutated ET patients reached that of PV (48% vs 55%, test for trend p=0.05). We found that JAK2 V617F+ allele burden measured by real-time quantitative PCR influenced these rates in a comparable way in both ET and PV. Actually, in JAK2 wild type ET (n=376, 43%) the rate was 1.4% pt/yr. In ET patients with JAK2 V617F+ allele burden ranging from 1 to 25% (N=190; 49%) the rate was 1.9 % pt/yr compared to 1.2 in PV patients (N=64, 19%); in the group with 26–50% the rate was 2.0 % pt/yr in ET (N=177; 45%) and 3.0 in PV patients (N=118, 36%); in cases of V617F+ allele burden greater than 50% the rate was 3.8 % pt/yr in ET (N=23; 6%) and 2.9 in PV patients (N=147, 45%). In conclusion, from this retrospective analysis, we conclude that in patients with ET harboring JAK2 V617F mutation the rate of stroke, myocardial infarction and venous thromboembolic complications is similar to that of PV patients and increases in dependence of V617F allele burden, supporting the hypothesis that ET and PV may be viewed as a continuum also in terms of vascular complications

Differential effects of hydroxyurea and INC424 on mutant allele burden and myeloproliferative phenotype in a JAK2-V617F polycythemia vera mouse model

Blood ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 121 (7) ◽  
pp. 1188-1199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucia Kubovcakova ◽  
Pontus Lundberg ◽  
Jean Grisouard ◽  
Hui Hao-Shen ◽  
Vincent Romanet ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mouse Model ◽  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Polycythemia Vera ◽  
Mutant Allele ◽  
Jak2 V617f ◽  
Blood Parameters ◽  
Therapeutic Agents ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Allele Burden ◽  
Key Points

Key Points JAK2-V617F cells show a competitive advantage over wild-type cells in BM transplantation assays. A preclinical mouse model allows the examination of the effects of therapeutic agents on blood parameters and JAK2-V617F mutant allele burden.

High Percentage of JAK2 exon 12 Mutation in Polycythemia Vera and Essential Thrombocythemia Among Populations of Qatar

Blood ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 120 (21) ◽  
pp. 5064-5064
Author(s):  
Mohamed A. Yassin ◽  
Hanadi Rafii El-Ayoubi ◽  
Nader Al-Dewik
Keyword(s):  
Polycythemia Vera ◽  
Essential Thrombocythemia ◽  
Genomic Dna ◽  
Research Funding ◽  
Mutant Allele ◽  
Jak2 V617f ◽  
Research Fund ◽  
Idiopathic Myelofibrosis ◽  
Essential Thrombocytosis ◽  
High Incidence

Abstract Abstract 5064 The chronic myeloproliferative Neoplasm (NPM) are clonal hematopoietic stem cell malignancies with 3 main subtypes: polycythemia vera (PV), essential thrombocytosis, and idiopathic myelofibrosis. PV is characterized by increased RBC proliferation in the absence of erythropoietin and proliferation of myeloid lineages usually is noted, A gain-of-function mutation of Janus kinase 2 (JAK2) V617F, is identified in about 95% of patients with PV and about 50% of patients with essential thrombocytosis and idiopathic myelofibrosis. It has been shown that JAK2 exon 12 mutations can activate erythropoietin signaling pathways while these findings have been confirmed by many studies from Western countries, there are no reports from Asian countries in general and Arab countries in particular about the prevalence of the JAK2 exon 12 mutation in patients with PV and ET. In the present study, we determined the prevalence of JAK2V617F and JAK2 exon 12 mutations in patients with PV and ET in Qatar. Materials and Methods We enrolled patients with a diagnosis of PV and ET at National Centre for Cancer Care and Research in Qatar from January till June 2012. The diagnosis of PV and ET was established according to the 2008 World Health Organization criteria. The study included 82 patients. Clinical information and the CBC data at diagnosis were obtained from medical records. Pretreatment serum erythropoietin levels. Total DNA was isolated from buffy coat cells taken from peripheral blood using a kit (QIAamp DNA Mini Kit, Qiagen, Hilden, Germany) according to the manufacturer's instructions. Allele-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed using 80 ng of genomic DNA as the template in a35-cycle PCR reaction at an annealing temperature of 58°C, as previously described. The mutant allele yields a 203-base-pair (bp) PCR product (sensitivity of mutant allele detection <1%). For exon 12 mutation screening, 80 ng of genomic DNA was amplified by specific primers designed to amplify a region of 453 bp containing the 128 bp of the exon 12 sequence of JAK2. PCR products were directly sequenced in both directions on an ABI 3730 DNA Analyzer using the BigDye Terminator Sequencing kit. Results We examined the occurrence of JAK2V617F and JAK2 exon 12 mutations in a clinical cohort of 82 patients with polycythemia vera (PV) and Essential thrombocythemia (ET) Of which 42 patients had PV aged 25 to 53, 13 (31%) females and 29 (69 %) males and V617F mutation was detected in all of them exon 12 mutation was detected in 38 (90. 47%) patients. We found 2 different exon 12 mutations:3 N542-E543del, 1 F537-K539delinsL, and among 40 ET patients aged 25 to 59, 22 (55 %) males and 18 (45%) females, 35 patients (87. 5%) were JAK2 V617F and JAK 2 exon12 positive and 5 (12. 5%) were JAK2V617F as well as exon 12 negative patients with V617F and exon 12 mutations showed significantly higher WBC and platelet counts at diagnosis than patients with exon V617F mutation alone (P =. 021 and P =. 038, respectively). We report a surprisingly high incidence of exon 12 mutations in MPN patients with PVand ET in Qatar, a result quite different from reports in the Western literature (P =. 001). Conclusion Our data suggest that exon 12 mutation of JAK2 in patients with PV and ET may have an uneven geographic distribution. A clinical laboratory providing the V617F test alone may risk missing a substantial number of patients with PV in areas with a high incidence of exon 12 mutation. the importance of such associations may need further studies and evaluations. Disclosures: Yassin: Qatar National Research Fund: Patents & Royalties, Research Funding. Rafii El-Ayoubi:Qatar National Research Fund: Patents & Royalties, Research Funding. Al-Dewik:Qatar National Research Fund: Patents & Royalties, Research Funding.

Sequential Analysis By Next Generation Sequencing of 18 Genes in Polycythemia Vera and Essential Thrombocythemia Reveals a Association Between Mutational Status and Clinical Outcome after 3-Year Follow-up

Blood ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 126 (23) ◽  
pp. 2808-2808
Author(s):  
Damien Luque Paz ◽  
Aurelie Chauveau ◽  
Caroline Buors ◽  
Jean-Christophe Ianotto ◽  
Francoise Boyer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Polycythemia Vera ◽  
Essential Thrombocythemia ◽  
Jak2 V617f ◽  
Primary Myelofibrosis ◽  
Jak2 V617f Mutation ◽  
Poor Prognostic Factor ◽  
Disease Evolution ◽  
Allele Burden ◽  
V617f Mutation

Abstract Introduction Myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN) are molecularly characterized by driver mutations of JAK2, MPL or CALR. Other somatic mutations may occur in epigenetic modifiers or oncogenes. Some of them have been shown to confer a poor prognosis in primary myelofibrosis, but their impact is less known in Polycythemia Vera (PV) and Essential Thrombocythemia (ET). In this study, we investigated the mutational profile using NGS technology in 50 JAK2 V617F positive cases of MPN (27 PV and 23 ET) collected at the time of diagnosis and after a 3 year follow-up (3y). Patients and Methods All patients were JAK2 V617F positive and already included in the prospective cohort JAKSUIVI. All exons of JAK2, MPL, LNK, CBL, NRAS, NF1, TET2, ASXL1, IDH1 and 2, DNMT3A, SUZ12, EZH2, SF3B1, SRSF2, TP53, IKZF1 and SETBP1 were covered by an AmpliseqTM custom design and sequenced on a PGM instrument (Life Technologies). CALR exon 9 mutations were screened using fragment analysis. Hotspots that mutated recurrently in MPN with no sequencing NGS coverage were screened by Sanger sequencing and HRM. A somatic validation was performed for some mutations using DNA derived from the nails. The increase of a mutation between diagnosis and follow-up has been defined as a relative increase of twenty percent of the allele burden. An aggravation of the disease at 3y was defined by the presence of at least one of the following criteria: leukocytosis &gt;12G/L or immature granulocytes &gt;2% or erythroblasts &gt;1%; anemia or thrombocytopenia not related to treatment toxicity; development or progressive splenomegaly; thrombocytosis on cytoreductive therapy; inadequate control of the patient's condition using the treatment (defined by at least one treatment change for reasons other than an adverse event). Results As expected, the JAK2 V617F mutation was found in all patients with the use of NGS. In addition, we found 27 other mutations in 10 genes out of the 18 genes studied by NGS (mean 0.54 mutations per patient). Overall, 29 of 50 patients had only the JAK2 V617F mutation and no other mutation in any of the genes analysed. No CALR mutation was detected. Nine mutations that were not previously described in myeloid malignancies were found. The genes involved in the epigenetic regulation were those most frequently mutated: TET2, ASXL1, IDH1, IDH2 and DNMT3A. In particular, TET2 mutations were the most frequent and occurred in 20% of cases. There was no difference in the number or in the presence of mutations between PV and ET. At 3y, 4 mutations appeared in 4 patients and 15 out of 50 patients (9 PV and 6 ET) were affected by an allele burden increase of at least one mutation. At 3y, 24/50 patients suffered an aggravation of the disease as defined by the primary outcome criterion (16 PV and 8 ET). The presence of a mutation (JAK2 V617Fomitted) at the time of the diagnosis was significantly associated with the aggravation of the disease (p=0.025). Retaining only mutations with an allele burden greater than 20%, the association with disease aggravation is more significant (p=0.011). Moreover, a mutation of ASXL1, IDH1/2 or SRSF2, which is a poor prognostic factor in primary myelofibrosis, was found in 8 patients, all having presented an aggravation of their disease (p=0.001). Only 4 patients had more than one somatic mutation other than JAK2 V617F and all of them also had an aggravation at 3y (p=0.046). In this cohort, appearance of a mutation at 3y was not associated with the course of the disease. Conversely, the increase of allele burden of at least one mutation was associated with an aggravation (p=0.019). Discussion and conclusion Despite the short follow-up and the limited number of patients, this study suggests that the presence of additional mutations at the time of the diagnosis in PV and TE is correlated to a poorer disease evolution. The increase of mutation allele burden, which reflects clonal evolution, also seems to be associated with the course of the disease. These results argue for a clinical interest in large mutation screening by NGS at the time of the diagnosis and during follow-up in ET and PV. Disclosures Ugo: Novartis: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: ASH travel.

scholarly journals Hydroxyurea does not appreciably reduce JAK2 V617F allele burden in patients with polycythemia vera or essential thrombocythemia

Haematologica ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 95 (8) ◽  
pp. 1435-1438 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Antonioli ◽  
A. Carobbio ◽  
L. Pieri ◽  
A. Pancrazzi ◽  
P. Guglielmelli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Polycythemia Vera ◽  
Essential Thrombocythemia ◽  
Jak2 V617f ◽  
Allele Burden

The Clinical Phenotype of Patients with Essential Thrombocythemia Harboring MPL 515W>L/K Mutation.

Blood ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 110 (11) ◽  
pp. 678-678 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandro M. Vannucchi ◽  
Elisabetta Antonioli ◽  
Alessandro Pancrazzi ◽  
Paola Guglielmelli ◽  
Simonetta Di Lollo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Platelet Count ◽  
Essential Thrombocythemia ◽  
Mutant Allele ◽  
Clinical Phenotype ◽  
Primary Myelofibrosis ◽  
Allele Burden ◽  
Long Term Stability ◽  
Blood Smears ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Systemic Symptoms

Abstract A 515W>L/K mutation in MPL (MPLmut) has been described in 5–10% of patients (pts) with myelofibrosis (Pikman Y, PloS Med 2006), possibly associated with JAK2617V>F allele. Among 217 subjects with primary myelofibrosis, the 18 MPLmut pts presented a more severe anemic phenotype than MPL wild-type (MPLWT) pts (Guglielmelli P, BJH 2007). MPL 515W>L mutation has been reported also in 4 pts with essential thrombocythemia (ET) (1%) (Pardanani A, Blood 2006). We have collected 13 MPLmut pts in an unselected series of 273 ET pts according to WHO criteria (4.7% of total) to evaluate whether MPL mutation associated with unique clinical characteristics and eventually whether MPLmut ET pts should be re-classified as having WHO pre-fibrotic myelofibrosis. A novel quantitative real-time PCR assay for 515W>L and 515W>K allele in granulocyte DNA has been designed; detection limit was 0.01% for W>L allele and 0.1% for W>K allele. Six pts were 515W>L and seven were 515W>K; 1 pt with W>L and 4 pts with W>K allele had only mutant allele. Mean mutant allele burden was 44(+/−25)% and 59(+/−21)% for W>L and W>K, respectively. Seven MPLmut pts (53%) also harbored JAK2617V>F allele, as compared to 164/260 of MPLWT (63%); they were 2/6 pts with 515W>L and 5/7 with 515W>K. Mean 617V>F allele burden was significantly lower in MPLmut (11+/− 9%) than MPLWT pts (24+/− 17%; P=0.03). There was no difference in age or gender, but median disease duration was longer in MPLmut pts (110 vs 57 months, P=0.001). At diagnosis, platelet count was significantly higher in MPLmut pts (1,113+/− 438x109/L vs 864+/− 302x109/L; P=0.02), while hemoglobin, serum ferritin, LDH level, and leukocyte count were not statistically different. Frequency of pts presenting endogenous erythroid colonies or PRV-1 over-expression was similar among MPLmut (37% and 44%, respectively) or MPLWT pts (48% and 43%). There was no difference in splenomegaly, systemic symptoms, major thrombosis (30% vs 21%) or hemorrhages (8% vs 6%) between MPLmut and MPLWT pts. However, pts with microvessel disease were significantly more frequent among MPLmut (77% vs 34%, P=0.002). Bone marrow (BM) biopsy at diagnosis of MPLmut pts was reviewed in a blinded fashion among 30 random biopsies from MPLWT ET pts. There was no significant difference in total cellularity, erythoid or myeloid lineage beteween MPLWT and MPLmut pts. Megakaryocyte hyperplasia was prominent in MPLmut pts, with Mks being either scattered or in loose clusters similarly to MPLWT pts. However, in addition to typical large Mks, MPLmut pts displayed a discrete number of small-size vWF and/or CD61-pos Mks. BM fibrosis quantification (revised EUMNET criteria) revealed grade 0–1 fibrosis in all but one MPLmut pts, who presented grade 1–2. Finally, there was no evidence of leukoerythroblastosis in blood smears. One pt died after 11 yrs of major thrombosis, none evolved to myelofibrosis. Overall, these data indicate that prevalence of MPL mutation in ET may be higher (5%) than previously reported, but the mutation per se does not associate with a unique clinical phenotype, a part for a higher platelet count and greater occurrence of microvessel symptoms. Increased number of small-size Mks was observed in BM biopsy, but the whole hystologic pattern, as well as long-term stability of disease, did not support alternative diagnosis of pre-fibrotic myelofibrosis.

Relationship Between Granulocyte JAK2 (V617F) Mutant Allele Burden and Risk of Progression to Myelofibrosis in Polycythemia Vera: a Prospective Study of 338 Patients.

Blood ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 114 (22) ◽  
pp. 751-751
Author(s):  
Francesco Passamonti ◽  
Elisa Rumi ◽  
Daniela Pietra ◽  
Chiara Elena ◽  
Emanuela Boveri ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Polycythemia Vera ◽  
Mutant Allele ◽  
Multivariable Analysis ◽  
Jak2 V617f ◽  
Continuous Variable ◽  
Free Survival ◽  
Who Criteria ◽  
Allele Burden ◽  
Risk Of Progression

Abstract Abstract 751 An identical gain-of-function mutation of JAK2 is found in about 95% of patients with polycythemia vera (PV). According to a two-step model [N Engl J Med. 2005 Apr 28;352(17):1779-90], the occurrence of JAK2 (V617F) gives rise to a clone that is heterozygous and expands to replace hematopoietic cells without the JAK2 mutation. A mitotic recombination in a hematopoietic cell that is heterozygous for JAK2 (V617F) later generates uniparental disomy and 9pLOH. The daughter cell that is homozygous for JAK2 (V617F) gives rise to a new clone that expands and replaces the previous heterozygous clone. Therefore, variable proportions of JAK2 (V617F) mutant alleles are found in myeloid cell populations from PV patients. A mutant allele dosage effect on phenotype has been described, and PV patients with high mutant allele burden have been found to have a more severe disease. Patients with post-PV myelofibrosis have the highest mutant allele burdens [median value of about 90% - Blood. 2008 Apr 1;111(7):3383-7]. Interestingly, JAK2 (V617F) activates circulating granulocytes, and by this means likely plays a role in the constitutive mobilization of CD34-positive cells into peripheral blood that characterizes the transformation of PV into post-PV myelofibrosis [Blood. 2006 May 1;107(9):3676-82]. Since all these observations may suggest that the mutant allele burden contributes to determining the myelofibrotic transformation of PV, we examined PV patients enrolled in a prospective observational cohort study. As of August 10, 2009, 338 patients diagnosed with PV according to the 2008 WHO criteria have been enrolled in this study. Of these patients, 320 (94.7%) carried JAK2 (V617F), 14 (4.1%) had JAK2 exon 12 mutations, and 4 (1.2%) did not carry JAK2 (V617F) nor exon 12 mutations despite a typical PV phenotype. Of the 320 patients carrying JAK2 (V617F), 146 were enrolled at diagnosis and 174 at follow-up. Patients were routinely treated with phlebotomy and low dose aspirin, while those at high risk for thrombosis (history of previous thrombosis and/or age greater than 60 years) were given also cytoreductive therapy. Diagnosis of post-PV myelofibrosis was based on the IWG-MRT criteria, while diagnosis of myelodysplastic syndrome or acute myeloid leukemia (AML) was done according the 2008 WHO criteria. In order to accurately assess the granulocyte mutant allele burden, we refined a previously described quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR)-based allelic discrimination assay. This assay is now routinely calibrated using defined standards [Haematologica. 2009 Jan;94(1):38-45] and has a sensitivity equal to 0.2% mutant alleles. Within 320 JAK2 (V617F)-positive patients, the median mutant allele burden was 47% (range 1.1-100%); 167 (52%) patients had less than 50%, while 153 (48%) had more than 50% mutant alleles. PV patients at diagnosis had significantly lower mutant allele burdens than those enrolled in the study at follow-up (P = .002). During the study period, disease transformation occurred in 18 patients. Eight patients, all with more than 50% JAK2 (V617F) mutant alleles at study entry, progressed to post-PV myelofibrosis, while 10 patients developed AML. Since about half of the patients were enrolled at follow-up, survival analyses were carried out accounting for left censoring of the observation. Cox proportional hazard regression showed that the JAK2 mutant allele burden, analyzed as a continuous variable, was related to hematologic transformation-free survival (HR: 1.025, 95% CI 1.005-1.046; P = .015). By categorizing the mutant allele burden, patients with more than 50% mutant alleles had a significantly worse hematologic transformation-free survival (HR: 6.54, 95% CI 1.47-29.1; P = .013) compared with those with lower mutant allele burden. After adjusting for age in a multivariable analysis, the 50% cutoff retained statistical significance (P = .048). With respect to the risk of progression to post-PV myelofibrosis, the JAK2 mutant allele burden, considered as a continuous variable, was significantly related to myelofibrosis-free survival (HR: 1.04, 95% CI: 1.004-1.08; P = .029). In a multivariable analysis with allele burden and age as covariates, the mutant allele burden showed an independent effect on myelofibrosis-free survival (P= .038). By contrast, the risk of developing AML was not significantly related to the mutant allele burden. In conclusion, the findings of this study suggest that a high mutant allele burden represents a risk factor for progression to myelofibrosis in patients with PV. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

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