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Risk factors
By Mayo Clinic staffAlthough the cause of myelofibrosis often isn't known, certain factors are known to increase your risk:
- Age. Myelofibrosis can affect anyone, but it's most often diagnosed in people between the ages of 50 and 70.
- Another blood cell disorder. A small portion of people with myelofibrosis develop the condition as a complication of essential thrombocythemia or polycythemia vera.
- Exposure to certain chemicals. Myelofibrosis has been linked to exposure to industrial chemicals such as toluene and benzene.
- Exposure to radiation. People exposed to high levels of radiation, such as survivors of atomic bomb attacks, have had an increased risk of myelofibrosis. Some people who received a radioactive contrast material called Thorotrast, used from the 1920s to the 1950s, have since developed myelofibrosis.
References
- 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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