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Led by ALLG members Dr Cecily Forsyth, Prof Andrew Grigg and A/Prof David Ross, the MPN01 Trial is contributing  to ALLG’s impact in developing leading edge blood cancer treatments in  areas of high unmet need. We conducted this small registry study with the aim of better understanding the complexity of myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN).

“This type of blood cancer can initially cause no symptoms in patients, and due to the long course of the disease, many people with an MPN can go undiagnosed for months/years.

“Polycythaemia vera is diagnosed in an estimated 250 Australians each year, essential thrombocythaemia around 200 and myelofibrosis an estimated 150. The rarer sub types of MPN, as a group, are diagnosed in less than 50 Australians per year”. (Leukaemia Foundation)

This type of blood cancer can initially cause no symptoms in patients, and due to the long course of the disease, many people with an MPN can go undiagnosed for months/years.

Find out more about ALLG’s impact on blood cancer.

 

What are Myeloproliferative Neoplasms (MPN)?

Myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN) are a rare group of blood cancers that start in the bone marrow and cause the bone marrow to produce too many of one or more types of blood cells. This prevents the bone marrow from producing enough healthy blood cells. If MPN isn’t diagnosed early, some forms of MPN can transform into other types of MPN or acute myeloid leukaemia.

 

About the MPN01 Blood Cancer Trial

This ALLG trial aimed to describe the current approach to diagnosing MPN in routine practice by assessing the frequency at which bone marrow biopsies were performed and the adherence of reporting pathologists to recommendations contained in the revised 2016 WHO classification pertaining to Myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN).

MPN01 Chief Investigator Associate Professor David Ross said, “The MPN01 registry recruited 250 patients from 8 ALLG participating sites with various MPN diagnoses made in the period 2010-2016. For most cancers the diagnosis can be made by examination of a single adequate biopsy sample.

“The diagnosis of MPN is almost unique among cancers in that an accurate diagnosis requires the integration of clinical information, peripheral blood counts, biopsy findings, and genetics.

“We undertook a detailed audit of diagnostic information for a subset of 152 patients in the registry who had sufficient pathological data available for review. We found that around two-thirds of cases had data that were concordant with the stated diagnosis, while the remaining cases had discordant results or were missing information that is highlighted in the WHO classification as helping to distinguish MPN subtypes.

“These results are important for the research community. They highlight the need for careful review of the stated diagnosis of MPN, which is relevant for both registries and clinical trials to ensure the validity of the results. Where possible, central review of pathology should be undertaken. When this is not feasible, a structured checklist of key descriptive features in the biopsy and ancillary clinical and test information can help to improve the reliability of the entered diagnosis.

“Our findings regarding diagnostic accuracy were recently published online in Pathology”.

 

ALLG’s Impact on Improving Cancer Treatments

ALLG is the only not-for-profit, collaborative blood cancer clinical trial group in Australasia, with over 1,000 leading haematologists, scientists & blood cancer researchers dedicated to improving blood cancer treatments and patient outcomes, while aiming for cure.

Our mission is to create better treatments and better lives for patients with blood cancers like leukaemia, lymphoma and myeloma. We design and conduct leading-edge clinical trials and research that drive new blood cancer treatments and better quality of life for cancer patients. In 2023, ALLG marked 5 decades of impact for patients with blood cancer.

Visit ALLG to learn more.