Evaluation Of The JAK2-V617F Gene Mutation In Egyptian Patients With Essential Thrombocythemia and Polycythemia Vera

An activating mutation of Janus kinase 2 (JAK2-V617F) was previously described in chronic myeloproliferative disorders (MPD). In previously published studies, the frequency of the JAK2-V617F mutation was determined to be 80–90 % for patients with polycythemia vera (PV) and 40–70 % for essential thrombocythemia (ET). In this study, we analyzed the relationship between the JAK2-V617F mutation and clinical-hematological parameters in Egyptian patients with MPD and compared these findings with published studies from other geographic regions and previous studies in EGYPT. A total of 56 patients were studied; of which, 32 were diagnosed with PV and 24 with ET. The mutation status of JAK2 was determined using allele-specific oligonucleotide (ASO) PCR assay. We found that 53% of the PV group and 79% of the ET group were positive for the JAK2-V617F mutation. When all patients were analyzed; patient age, levels of WBCs, levels of hemoglobin, levels of platelets and splenomegaly were significantly different in patients with the JAK2-V617F mutation (p < 0.05). The JAK2-V617F mutation is frequently detected in the Egyptian patients with MPD, and especially in patients with ET. Hence, it would be useful to include JAK2 mutation screening in the initial evaluation of patients suspected to have MPD especially ET.