Abstract
The prognostic significance of spleen size, hemoglobin level (Hb), platelet count and hemopoietic cellularity of the bone marrow was assessed in 33 patients with myelofibrosis. of these 4 parameters, only the Hb (P <0.01) and bone marrow cellularity (P <0.001) were found to be useful indicators of prognosis. Patients with Hb greater than 10 g/dl had a median survival greater than 110 mth while those with Hb less than 10 g/dl had a median survival of 22.5 mth; patients with hemopoietic hypercellularity in the bone marrow had a median survival greater than 110 mth while those with a normo- or hypocellularity had a median survival of 20.5 mth. There was significant correlation (P<0.01) between the marrow cellularity and the Hb level; 71% of patients with a normo- or hypocellular marrow had Hb < 10 g/dl, while 79% of those with a hypercellular marrow had Hb >10 g/dl.
