overview
Myelofibrosis is a rare type of bone marrow cancer that affects the normal production of blood cells in your body.
Myelofibrosis causes extensive scars in the bone marrow, leading to severe anemia, which can lead to weakness and fatigue. It can also cause low numbers of blood clotting cells called platelets, which increases the risk of bleeding. Myelofibrosis often causes an enlarged spleen.
Myelofibrosis is considered to be chronic leukemia – cancer that affects the hematopoietic tissues of the body. Myelofibrosis belongs to a group of conditions called myeloproliferative diseases. Idiopathic myelofibrosis Treatment in Hyderabad
symptoms
Myelofibrosis usually develops slowly. At a very early stage, many people have no signs or symptoms.
As the disruption to normal blood cell production increases, signs and symptoms may include:
- Feeling tired, weak, or short of breath, usually due to anemia
- Pain or fullness under your ribs on the left side due to an enlarged spleen
- Easy bruising
- Easy bleeding
- Excessive sweating while sleeping (night sweats)
- fever
The reasons
Myelofibrosis occurs when stem cells in the bone marrow develop changes (mutations) in their DNA. Stem cells can replicate and divide into several specialized cells that make up your blood – red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets.
It is not known what causes genetic mutations in bone marrow stem cells.
When mutated blood stem cells replicate and divide, they pass the mutations on to new cells. As more and more of these mutant cells emerge, they begin to have serious effects on blood production. Idiopathic myelofibrosis Treatment in Hyderabad
Risk factors
Although the cause of myelofibrosis is often unknown, certain factors are known to increase your risk:
- Age. Myelofibrosis can affect anyone, but it is most commonly diagnosed in people over the age of 50.
- Another blood cell disease. A small proportion of people with myelofibrosis develop the disease 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. Idiopathic myelofibrosis Treatment in Hyderabad
Complications
Complications that can result from myelofibrosis include:
- Increased pressure on the blood circulating in your liver. Usually, the blood flow from the spleen enters your liver through a large blood vessel called a portal vein. Increased blood flow from an enlarged spleen can lead to high blood pressure in the portal vein (portal hypertension).
- This, in turn, can force excess blood into the small veins in the stomach and esophagus, potentially causing those veins to rupture and bleed.
- Pain. A greatly enlarged spleen can cause abdominal and back pain.