A research article, published in Blood Advances, has outlined findings from a real-world US study about the risk of secondary malignancies in patients with polycythemia vera.
Titled ‘Prevalence, incidence, and risk factors of secondary malignancies in patients with polycythemia vera: A real-world study’, the authors found that:
- “28% of PV patients developed secondary malignancies over 4.3 years of follow-up (9.6 cancers per 100 patient years).
- The most common secondary malignancies were skin cancers (eg, basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and melanoma).”
“The strongest risk factors for occurrence of melanoma or NMSC (non melanoma skin cancer) in the observation period included older age, prior history of skin cancer, and ….. a higher likelihood of developing new-onset melanoma or NMSC was observed in patients who received 4 weeks or more of hydroxyurea exposure vs those with no hydroxyurea exposure.”
However, the authors state that “Despite these findings, it is unclear whether PV therapy has a causative role in the risk of melanoma and NMSC or whether patients’ underlying disease or genomic state (eg, the presence of a pathogenic alteration in JAK2 or another gene) contributes to the development of these malignancies. An increased incidence of secondary malignancies (eg, lymphoid malignancies) in patients with PV irrespective of therapy has been described; patient age, disease status, and other factors may have contributed to these findings.”
The authors highlight that, in the US, “Despite the reported prevalence of skin cancers, dermatologic exams are not part of routine clinical practice in the setting of PV, and current treatment guidelines do not include recommendations that patients with PV should receive routine skin examinations by a dermatologist. Given our findings and what has been reported in the literature, routine baseline skin exams should be considered for patients with PV, especially given that malignancies can coexist with PV and in patients who are potentially at higher risk, including older patients (60 years or more) with a history of hydroxyurea use.”
There is even more detail in the article which is available to be read in full.
When you click on the link, you will then need to open the PDF.
