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Definition
By Mayo Clinic staffMyelofibrosis is a serious bone marrow disorder that disrupts your body's normal production of blood cells. The result is extensive scarring in your bone marrow, leading to severe anemia, weakness, fatigue, and often, an enlarged spleen and liver.
Myelofibrosis is a type of chronic leukemia — a cancer that affects the blood-forming tissues in the body. Myelofibrosis can occur on its own (primary myelofibrosis) or it can occur as a result of another bone marrow disorder (secondary myelofibrosis).
Many people with myelofibrosis get progressively worse, and some may eventually develop a more serious form of leukemia. Yet it's also possible to have myelofibrosis and live symptom-free for years. Treatment for myelofibrosis, which focuses on relieving symptoms, can involve a variety of options.
- Hoffman R, et al. Primary myelofibrosis. In: Hoffman R, et al. Hematology: Basic Principles and Practice. 5th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Churchill Livingstone Elsevier; 2009. http://www.mdconsult.com/books/about.do?about=true&eid=4-u1.0-B978-0-443-06715-0..X5001-8--TOP&isbn=978-0-443-06715-0&uniqId=230100505-56. Accessed Dec. 29, 2010.
- Mesa RA. New drugs for the treatment of myelofibrosis. Current Hematologic Malignancy Reports. 2010;5:15.
- Alchalby H, et al. Reduced-intensity conditioning followed by allogenic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in myelofibrosis. Current Hematologic Malignancy Reports. 2010;5:53.
- Idiopathic myelofibrosis. Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. http://www.leukemia-lymphoma.org/attachments/National/br_1190656475.pdf. Accessed Dec. 30, 2010.
- Thorium. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxfaqs/tfacts147.pdf. Accessed Dec. 30, 2010.
- Jakafi (prescribing information). Wilmington, Del.: Incyte Corporation; 2011. http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cder/drugsatfda. Accessed Nov. 23, 2011.
- Stein BL, et al. Janus kinase inhibitors: An update on the progress and promise of targeted therapy in the myeloproliferative neoplasms. Current Opinion in Oncology. 2011;23:609.
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