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An Alternative to Help Diagnose Polycythemia Vera

PLoS One; 2016 Nov 3; Wang, Shi, Baptiste, et al

Publish date:

Quantifying the insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor level in peripheral blood by flow cytometry appears to be a reasonable alternative to endogenous erythroid colony as the minor criterion for diagnosing polycythemia vera (PV), according to a study involving 88 individuals.

Investigators measured IGF-1R levels in the peripheral blood of PV patients (n=26), and compared them with those of patients with secondary polycythemia (n=33) and controls (n=29). Among the results:

  • 16 patients with PV were treated with only phlebotomy, 9 received hydroxyurea, and 1 received ruxolinitinib.
  • PV patients treated with only phlebotomy had significantly higher IGF-1R levels than did those treated with hydroxyurea or ruxolinitinib.
  • None of the secondary PV patients or controls had elevated IGR-1R levels.
  • 87% of PV patients had significantly elevated IGF-1R levels.

Citation:

Wang J, Shi G, Baptiste S, et al. Quantification of IGF-1 receptor may be useful in diagnosing polycythemia vera: Suggestion to be added to be one of the minor criterion. PLoS One. 2016;11(11):e0165299. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0165299.

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