Could minor symptoms hide a fatal crisis? Top 10 signs of myelofibrosis: bone pain, itchy skin, poor concentration
Too tired at work and often have bone pain or gastrointestinal discomfort? Beware of Myelofibrosis Warning Signs
Do you often feel fatigue, bone pain, or loss of appetite? This may not be caused by overwork, but by myelofibrosis! Myelofibrosis is mostly related to genetic mutations and abnormal proliferation of fibroblasts in the bone marrow stroma, causing hematopoietic cells to fail to work normally. Common symptoms include fatigue, feeling full, night sweats, itching, etc., which can easily be mistaken for gastrointestinal discomfort or Tiredness and delay in seeking medical treatment.
Dr. Colin Jian-chen, a hematologist at National Taiwan University Hospital, explained that the public’s awareness of myelofibrosis is limited, and early symptoms are difficult to judge, making it easy to ignore and delay medical treatment. Myelofibrosis is mostly caused by acquired gene mutations in hematopoietic cells, which can cause the patient’s original hematopoietic system to become abnormal, the spleen to enlarge due to compensatory hematopoiesis, and the body to produce a lot of abnormal cytokines, which can lead to various discomforts. Symptoms seriously affect the quality of daily life and work performance.
Without treatment, it may turn into acute myelogenous leukemia! Pay attention to the top ten symptoms of myelofibrosis
Dr. Lin Jianchen pointed out that the ten common symptoms of myelofibrosis include night sweats, inability to concentrate, poor mobility, easy satiety, fatigue, bone pain, fever, itching, abdominal discomfort, weight loss, and even severe cases due to Itchy skin and other symptoms can cause sleep disorders, which can also affect patients’ quality of life and increase their physical and mental burden.
Dr. Lin Jianchen reminded that if middle-aged and elderly people observe that they have such symptoms for a long time, they should not take it lightly and seek medical help as soon as possible. According to statistics, about 10%-20% of patients with clinical myelofibrosis will develop symptoms due to failure to respond promptly. The risk of death from acute myelogenous leukemia increases sharply if treatment is obtained.
Myelofibrosis can only survive for 5 years? Are the side effects of targeted drugs intolerable?
In addition, existing treatment options for myelofibrosis are limited, and the average survival time of patients is only 3.5 to 5 years. This is a health concern that cannot be ignored by Taiwanese people. Currently, the only radical cure for myelofibrosis is allogeneic bone marrow transplantation, but due to the high risk, the patient’s age, disease condition, and matching of suitable donors need to be considered. Other treatment options include oral chemotherapy drugs, splenectomy surgery or radiation therapy, blood transfusions, targeted drugs, etc.
Although targeted drug therapy has lower risks and lighter burdens for patients, options were limited in the past, causing patients with myelofibrosis to face the dilemma of having no cure once they experience side effects or discontinue treatment due to drug resistance. Dr. Guo Mingzong from the Department of Hematology at Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital said that although current first-line targeted drugs are helpful in alleviating symptoms, side effects such as anemia, dizziness, diarrhea, vomiting, and fatigue often cause patients to feel uncomfortable and interrupt treatment.
Dr. Lin Jianchen pointed out that for myelofibrosis, new drugs have been released one after another. In addition to alleviating symptoms, foreign studies have shown that after treatment, patients’ spleen enlargement can be reduced by more than 30% in size, and symptoms are significantly relieved. Even in patients who have failed existing drug treatments, it still has the effect of alleviating symptoms and side effects, which is expected to improve the course of the disease and improve the patient’s quality of life, increasing the hope of continued treatment and prolonging survival.
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