Myeloproliferative Diseases: Clinical and Pathologic Study of 69 Cases

Abstract

Clinical and pathologic data from 69 autopsied patients with myeloproliferative diseases were reviewed. The cases were grouped according to initial clinical diagnosis, occurrence of acute leukemic termination, and presence of myelofibrosis. Thirty-four pathologic and 8 clinical criteria that have been said to separate the diseases included under the term "myeloproliferative syndrome" were examined. Within the groupings 210 comparisons were made and tested for their ability to discriminate, and the resulting percentage errors of misclassification were determined. Only 10 of 170 comparisons of mean values for anatomic observations, and 10 of 40 for clinical observations gave total errors of misclassification of less than 30%. One clinical and 2 anatomic comparisons gave total errors of less than 20%. Combinations of 2 or more criteria were no more effective in discriminating.