The Epidemiology of Myeloproliferative Neoplasms in New Zealand between 2010 and 2017: Insights from the New Zealand Cancer Registry

Abstract

Background: There is a paucity of data on ethnic disparities in patients with the classical Philadelphia chromosome-negative myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs): polycythaemia vera (PV), essential thrombocythaemia (ET) and primary myelofibrosis (PMF). Methods: This study analysed the demographic data for PV, ET and PMF collected by the New Zealand Cancer Registry (NZCR) between 2010 and 2017. Results: We found that the NZCR capture rates were lower than average international incidence rates for PV and ET, but higher for PMF (0.76, 0.99 and 0.82 per 100,000, respectively). PV patients were older and had worse outcomes than expected, which suggests these patients were reported to the registry at an advanced stage of their disease. Polynesian patients with all MPN subtypes, PV, ET and PMF, were younger than their European counterparts both at the time of diagnosis and death (p < 0.001). Male gender was an independent risk factor for mortality from PV and PMF (hazard ratios (HR) of 1.43 and 1.81, respectively; p < 0.05), and Māori ethnicity was an independent risk factor for mortality from PMF (HR: 2.94; p = 0.006). Conclusions: New Zealand Polynesian patients may have increased genetic predisposition to MPN, thus we advocate for modern genetic testing in this ethnic group to identify the cause. Further work is also required to identify modifiable risk factors for mortality in MPN, in particular those associated with male gender and Māori ethnicity; the results may benefit all patients with MPN.

The Sarawak Myelofibrosis (SaMy) experience: Demographics and outcome of myelofibrosis patients in Sarawak, Malaysia

“…The median age for our study population was slightly younger (59 years old) when compared to the data reported in the literature. 10 , 11 In contrast, our results were in parallel with earlier studies published from Germany and Sweden, where the median ages reported were 57 and 55 years, respectively. 12 , 13 No gender disparity was found in our cohort, in contrast to the other studies which reported male preponderance among MF patients.…”

“…12,13 No gender disparity was found in our cohort, in contrast to the other studies which reported male preponderance among MF patients. 10,11 Despite the known high prevalence of disease-associated symptom burden in MF, symptoms particularly regarding the severity were poorly documented in our cohort, highlighting the importance of monitoring symptom burden using the MPN10 scoring tool in our routine clinical practice. Patients with MF frequently present with a variety of symptoms that negatively affect their quality of life (QoL).…”

Exploring hematological alterations and genetics linked to SNV rs10974944 in myeloproliferative neoplasms among Amazon patients

“…Essential thrombocythemia proved to be the most frequent myeloproliferative neoplasm, which are findings that align with the premises established by Torres 15 , who studied a population with BCR::ABL1 -negative myeloproliferative neoplasms in the state of Amazonas (Brazil). Similar data were described by Macedo 16 , who reported a similar scenario in patients from the states of Paraná and São Paulo who had the same hematologic malignancy, and these data converge with descriptions found in other countries 17 , 18 .…”

Real-world patient characteristics and treatment patterns of polycythemia vera in Taiwan between 2016 and 2017: a nationwide cross-sectional study

“…Similar to previous reports, male patients were more prevalent in this study (70% male and 30% female). This difference in the proportion of sexes was greater than those in South Korea (60:40), 4 Japan (57:43), 18 China (54:46), 9 Denmark (56:44), 19 New Zealand (52:48), 17 and the United States (58:42). 20 Note that such a phenomenon was not observed in Norway (50:50).…”

“… 16 A New Zealand study compared the age at diagnosis between Caucasian (71.7 years), Ma-ori (59.5 years), and Pacific Islander (56.8 years) patients, suggesting that age differences may exist perhaps due to genetic predisposition. 17 It is also important to consider the trend of population pyramids at the time of patient enrollment, as younger populations may contribute to the mean younger age at diagnosis.…”