Prognosis for Myelofibrosis

Myelofibrosis is a medical condition that affects your bone marrow, the material responsible for producing new blood cells. The prognosis for people who develop myelofibrosis is usually poor in the long term.

Time Frame

• According to the Merck Medical Manual, the prognosis for myelofibrosis is dependent upon how quickly the disease progresses. In cases where the condition develops slowly, patients may live 10 years or more, but if it is faster moving, the life expectancy is shorter.

Features

• The only possible cure for myelofibrosis is a bone marrow or stem cell transplant that gives your body a chance to produce new bone marrows cells that are not affected by the disease. Unfortunately, there are many complications associated with bone marrow transplants, such as tissue rejection and infection, making the surgery impossible for some patients.

Function

• When a bone marrow transplant is not possible, the treatment of myelofibrosis focuses upon controlling the effects of the condition. The success of limiting how much myelofibrosis affects your body also contributes to your overall prognosis with the disease.

Types of Treatments

• The most cost common treatment of myelofibrosis is the use of male sex hormones and corticosteroids to treat the shortage of red blood cells or anemia that occurs with the disease. In some cases, blood transfusions or medications to stimulate blood cell production like erythropoietin also improve the prognosis of patients with myelofibrosis, reports the Merck Medical Manual.

Risks

• There are some complications that can arise from myelofibrosis that negatively impact your prognosis. These include elevated pressure in the veins that lead to your liver, tumors on your spinal cord or digestive system, bacterial and viral infections, hemorrhaging due to decreased blood platelets, inflammation of your bones and leukemia or cancer of the blood, reports the Mayo Clinic.