Active clinical trials for "Polycythemia Vera"

Iron deficiency is a known feature of PV, occurs because of accelerated erythropoiesis, gastrointestinal blood loss and phlebotomy. Incidence and effect of iron deficiency in these patients is not well characterized. The study will assess the incidence of iron deficiency at diagnosis and during the course of PV, assess effect of iron deficiency on patient symptoms and its correlation with disease features. This is a multicenter, non-interventional, non-randomized, prospective, observational study in an adult population (patients >18 years old) of patients who have been diagnosed with PV and are being followed in either community or academic medical centers in Israel.

This study involves observing the level of cell cycle regulatory gene in patients with myeloproliferative disorders(MPD). These disorders include polycythemia vera (PV), essential thrombocythemia (ET), myelofibrosis (MF) and chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). The abnormal blood and/or bone marrow cells, or materials derived from these abnormal cells, like DNA, RNA, protein or plasma will be used in laboratory studies. Cell cycle regulatory protein such as cyclins, cyclin-dependent kinases(Cdks) and Cdk inhibitors(CKIs) play indispensable roles in processes such as transcription, metabolism and stem cell self-renewal. MPD are a group of diseases characterized by abnormally increased proliferation of erythroid, megakaryocytic, or granulocytic cells. The pathogenesis was still unclear. Detecting the level of cell cycle regulatory protein will be useful to look for the possible role in MPD and better understand the cause of MPD.

The purpose of this Cohort Treatment Plan is to allow access to ruxolitinib for eligible patients diagnosed with Polycythemia Vera. The patient's Treating Physician should follow the suggested treatment guidelines and comply with all local health authority regulations.

There is a paucity of data on the aetiology of myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs). The investigators conducted a systematic review of the literature which identified several cohort and case-control studies that have investigated a wide range of potential medical, environmental and occupational risk factors. However, these studies have been limited by a wide variation in case definition and small sample sizes limiting the potential to detect modest risk differences between cases and controls. The research group propose an exploratory case-control study of 100 patients with classic MPNs and 200 controls to determine the optimal methods for roll out of this study to a multi-centred UK-based case-control study that will investigate the aetiology of MPN subtypes. The objectives of the study are to evaluate recruitment procedures, response rates, the development of a telephone administered questionnaire, compare occupational exposure assessment using OccIDEAS, a novel web based program, with a job-exposure matrix (FINJEM), evaluate the feasibility of collection of DNA from saliva compared to blood samples, identify potential aetiologic factors associated with MPNs and explore assessment of quality of life. The findings of this exploratory study will form the basis of a protocol for a large United Kingdom (UK)-wide case-control study of MPNs.

Natural Killer cells (NK) are pivotal cells of innate immunity, that sense defective expression of HLA class I molecules and are complementary to specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes. A defect in NK cell cytotoxicity has been described in some hematopoietic malignancies such as acute myeloid leukemia, multiple myeloma, myelodysplastic syndroms. This defect is at least partially linked to a decreased or absent expression of some activating NK cell molecules, more particularly the so-called Natural Cytotoxicity Receptors (NCRs) NKp30, NKp44 and NKp46. Some old publications have demonstrated defective NK cytotoxicity in myeloproliferative syndroms (chronic myeloid leukemia, primary thrombocytosis, polycythemia vera). The investigators more particularly focused their attention on polycythemia vera (Vaquez's disease), a myeloproliferative disease characterized by the recently describet mutation V617F of the JAK2 tyrosine kinase. The investigators will precise the mechanisms leading to this cytotoxicity defect, the investigators also will evaluate the implication of V617F mutation on NK physiology, and will study the interactions between NK cells and hematopoietic progenitors.