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Myeloproliferative disorders

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Last Modified: December 1, 2002

Dear OncoLink "Ask The Experts,"
I have a friend who was just diagnosed with MPD. Could you please send me information on what the disorder is exactly? 

Selina M. Luger, MD, Director of the Leukemia Program and Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, responds:

MPD means myeloproliferative disorder. In these patients, typically there is an increase in the number of cells being made by the bone marrow resulting in increased blood counts. There can be an increase in the white blood cells, hemoglobin, or platelet counts or a combination of these. Sometimes patients will have enlarged spleens. Depending on the specific manifestations of the patient's disorder as well as the results of additional testing that may be done on the blood or bone marrow, the physician will determine how to treat the patient.