Overview of Myeloproliferative Neoplasms

Myeloproliferative disorders are a group of diseases morphologically linked by terminal myeloid cell expansion that frequently evolve from one clinical phenotype to another and eventually progress to acute myeloid leukemia . Diagnostic criteria for the Philadelphia chromosome–negative myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) have been established by the World Health Organization and they are recognized as blood cancers. MPNs have a complex and incompletely understood pathogenesis that includes systemic inflammation, clonal hematopoiesis , and constitutive activation of the JAK-STAT pathway. Complications, such as thrombosis and progression to overt forms of myelofibrosis and acute leukemia , contribute significantly to morbidity and mortality of patients with MPN.