Blood Res 2023; 58(4):
Published online December 31, 2023
https://doi.org/10.5045/br.2023.2023125
© The Korean Society of Hematology
Correspondence to : Deog-Yeon Jo, M.D., Ph.D.
Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Chungnam National University Hospital, 282 Munhwa-ro, Jung-gu, Daejeon 35015, Korea
E-mail: deogyeon@cnu.ac.kr
*This study was supported by Research Fund of Chungnam National University Hospital (2022).
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Background
Although atherosclerosis is likely to be involved in the development of arterial thrombotic events in patients with essential thrombocythemia (ET), abdominal aortic calcification (AAC) has rarely been investigated. We evaluated the prevalence and clinical relevance of AAC at the time of ET diagnosis.
Methods
This retrospective study included patients newly diagnosed with ET who underwent abdominal computed tomography (CT) at the time of diagnosis between January 2002 and December 2021 at Chungnam National University Hospital, Daejeon, Korea. CT images were reviewed and an aortic calcification score was assigned.
Results
Of the 94 patients (median age, 62 yr; range, 18‒90 yr), AAC was detected in 62 (66.0%). AAC was most commonly mild (33.0%), followed by moderate (22.7%) and severe (5.3%). Old age [odds ratio (OR), 34.37; 95% confidence interval (CI), 12.32‒95.91; P<0.001] was an independent risk factor for AAC. The patients with AAC had a higher WBC count (11.8±4.7 vs. 9.7±2.9×109/L, P=0.017), higher neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (4.3±2.7 vs. 3.1±1.5, P=0.039), and higher JAK2V617F positivity (81.5% vs. 58.8%, P=0.020) compared to those without AAC. AAC was an independent risk factor for arterial thrombotic vascular events that occurred before or at diagnosis of ET (OR, 4.12; 95% CI, 1.11‒15.85; P=0.034).
Conclusion
AAC is common in patients with ET and is associated with arterial thrombotic events.
Keywords: Essential thrombocythemia, Atherosclerosis, Abdominal aortic calcification, Arterial thrombosis
Blood Res 2023; 58(4): 173-180
Published online December 31, 2023 https://doi.org/10.5045/br.2023.2023125
Copyright © The Korean Society of Hematology.
Myung-Won Lee1, Jeong Suk Koh1, Sora Kang1, Hyewon Ryu1, Ik-Chan Song1, Hyo-Jin Lee1, Hwan-Jung Yun1, Seon Young Kim2, Seong Soo Kim3, Deog-Yeon Jo1
1Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, 2Department of Laboratory Medicine, 3Department of Thoracic Radiology, Chungnam National University College of Medicine, Daejeon, Korea
Correspondence to:Deog-Yeon Jo, M.D., Ph.D.
Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Chungnam National University Hospital, 282 Munhwa-ro, Jung-gu, Daejeon 35015, Korea
E-mail: deogyeon@cnu.ac.kr
*This study was supported by Research Fund of Chungnam National University Hospital (2022).
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Background
Although atherosclerosis is likely to be involved in the development of arterial thrombotic events in patients with essential thrombocythemia (ET), abdominal aortic calcification (AAC) has rarely been investigated. We evaluated the prevalence and clinical relevance of AAC at the time of ET diagnosis.
Methods
This retrospective study included patients newly diagnosed with ET who underwent abdominal computed tomography (CT) at the time of diagnosis between January 2002 and December 2021 at Chungnam National University Hospital, Daejeon, Korea. CT images were reviewed and an aortic calcification score was assigned.
Results
Of the 94 patients (median age, 62 yr; range, 18‒90 yr), AAC was detected in 62 (66.0%). AAC was most commonly mild (33.0%), followed by moderate (22.7%) and severe (5.3%). Old age [odds ratio (OR), 34.37; 95% confidence interval (CI), 12.32‒95.91; P<0.001] was an independent risk factor for AAC. The patients with AAC had a higher WBC count (11.8±4.7 vs. 9.7±2.9×109/L, P=0.017), higher neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (4.3±2.7 vs. 3.1±1.5, P=0.039), and higher JAK2V617F positivity (81.5% vs. 58.8%, P=0.020) compared to those without AAC. AAC was an independent risk factor for arterial thrombotic vascular events that occurred before or at diagnosis of ET (OR, 4.12; 95% CI, 1.11‒15.85; P=0.034).
Conclusion
AAC is common in patients with ET and is associated with arterial thrombotic events.
Keywords: Essential thrombocythemia, Atherosclerosis, Abdominal aortic calcification, Arterial thrombosis
Patient characteristics (N=94)..
Age, yr, median (range) | 62 (18–90) |
Male | 45 (47.9) |
Time of diagnosis | |
2002–2015 | 27 (28.7) |
2016–2021 | 67 (71.3) |
Palpable splenomegaly | 0 (0.0) |
Volumetric splenomegaly | 47 (50.0) |
Laboratory findings | |
WBC, ×109/L | 11.0±4.2 |
Neutrophil/lymphocyte | 3.9±2.4 |
Monocyte, ×109/L | 0.6±0.5 |
Hemoglobin, g/dL | 13.6±2.2 |
Platelet, ×109/L | 948.2±387.7 |
LDH, ×ULN | 1.2±0.4 |
Driver gene mutation | |
JAK2V617F | 64 (72.8) |
CALR | 9 (9.6) |
MPL | 3 (3.2) |
JAK2V617F VAF, % | 24.8±12.8 |
IPSET | |
Low | 30 (31.9) |
Intermediate | 27 (28.7) |
High | 37 (39.4) |
Comorbidity | |
Hypertension | 32 (34.0) |
Diabetes mellitus | 12 (13.8) |
Chronic kidney disease | 11 (11.7) |
Dyslipidemia | 19 (20.2) |
Smoking | 21 (22.3) |
Treatments | |
Cytoreductive treatment | 65 (67.4) |
Aspirin | 86 (91.5) |
Initial thrombotic events | |
Time of occurrence | |
Before or at diagnosis | 21 (22.3) |
After diagnosis | 1 (1.1) |
Overall | 22 (23.4) |
Vessels involved | |
Arterial | 21 (22.3) |
Venous | 1 (1.1) |
Follow-up, yr, median (range) | 2.9 (0.12–0.2) |
Values are presented as number (%) or mean±standard deviation..
Abbreviations: CALR, calreticulin; IPSET, International Prognostic Score in Essential Thrombocythemia; LDH, lactate dehydrogenase; ULN, upper limit of normal; VAF, variant allele frequency..
Prevalence and severity of abdominal aortic calcification (N=94)..
Severity of calcificationa) | N (%) | Aortic calcification score (ACS) |
---|---|---|
No | 32 (24.0) | 4±5 |
Mild | 31 (33.0) | 413±368 |
Moderate | 26 (27.7) | 2,814±1,783 |
Severe | 5 (5.3) | 12,365±5,238 |
Total | 94 (100) | 1,521±2,985 |
a)Abdominal aortic calcification was arbitrarily classified as no calcification (ACS <10), mild calcification (ACS of 10–999), moderate calcification (ACS of 1,000–10,000), or severe calcification (ACS >10,000)..
Risk factors for developing abdominal aortic calcification at diagnosis of essential thrombocythemia (N=94)..
Univariate analysis | Multivariate analysis | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
OR | 95% CI | P | OR | 95% CI | P | ||
Age >60 yr | 28.23 | 12.31–64.88 | <0.001 | 34.37 | 12.32–95.91 | <0.001 | |
Male | 2.00 | 0.85–4.72 | 0.111 | - | - | - | |
Volumetric splenomegaly | 1.07 | 0.59–2.03 | 0.833 | - | - | - | |
WBC >11.0×109/L | 2.66 | 1.12–6.96 | 0.028 | 3.92 | 0.93–16.50 | 0.062 | |
Monocyte >1.0×109/L | 6.94 | 1.59–20.33 | 0.010 | 4.38 | 0.25–77.29 | 0.313 | |
Neutrophil/lymphocyte >4.0 | 2.28 | 0.88–5.90 | 0.089 | - | - | - | |
Platelet >1,000×109/L | 1.29 | 0.61–2.72 | 0.509 | - | - | - | |
LDH >1.5×ULN | 3.32 | 0.88–12.51 | 0.076 | - | - | - | |
Positive JAK2V617F | 3.41 | 1.17–8.11 | 0.023 | 3.16 | 0.66–15.23 | 0.151 | |
Positive CALR mutation | 0.44 | 0.11–1.75 | 0.242 | - | - | - | |
Hypertension | 5.06 | 1.73–14.85 | 0.003 | 1.05 | 0.17–6.61 | 0.955 | |
Diabetes mellitus | 3.97 | 1.07–14.79 | 0.040 | 4.74 | 0.41–54.23 | 0.211 | |
Chronic kidney disease | 6.94 | 0.85–56.76 | 0.071 | - | - | - | |
Dyslipidemia | 3.97 | 1.09–14.79 | 0.040 | 5.05 | 0.85–30.21 | 0.076 | |
Smoking | 1.65 | 0.57–4.74 | 0.354 | - | - | - |
Abbreviations: CALR, calreticulin; CI, confidence interval; LDH, lactate dehydrogenase; OR, odds ratio; ULN, upper limit of normal..
Clinical features of essential thrombocythemia patients according to abdominal aortic calcification..
Without AAC (N=35) | With AAC (N=59) | P | |
---|---|---|---|
Age, yr | 49.4±12.3 | 68.1±10.5 | <0.001 |
Male | 12 (37.1) | 32 (54.2) | 0.109 |
Volumetric splenomegaly | 18 (51.4) | 29 (49.2) | 0.831 |
Laboratory findings | |||
WBC, ×109/L | 9.7±2.9 | 11.8±4.7 | 0.017 |
Neutrophil/lymphocyte | 3.2±1.5 | 4.3±2.7 | 0.039 |
Monocyte, ×109/L | 0.5±0.2 | 0.7±0.5 | 0.003 |
Hemoglobin, g/dL | 14.0±1.6 | 13.2±2.5 | 0.111 |
Platelet, ×109/L | 881.3±338.2 | 989.3±412.6 | 0.196 |
LDH, ×ULN | 1.1±0.4 | 1.3±0.4 | 0.043 |
Driver gene mutation | |||
JAK2V617F | 20 (58.8) | 44 (81.5) | 0.020 |
CALR | 5 (14.3) | 4 (6.8) | 0.232 |
JAK2V617F VAF, % | 21.8±11.0 | 26.1±13.5 | 0.218 |
IPSET | <0.001 | ||
Low | 26 (74.3) | 3 (5.1) | |
Intermediate | 5 (14.3) | 23 (39.0) | |
High | 4 (11.4) | 33 (55.9) | |
R-IPSET-T | <0.001 | ||
Very low | 11 (31.4) | 1 (1.7) | |
Low | 17 (48.6) | 6 (10.2) | |
Intermediate | 1 (2.9) | 10 (16.9) | |
High | 5 (14.3) | 42 (71.2) | |
Comorbidity | |||
Hypertension | 5 (14.3) | 27 (45.8) | 0.002 |
Diabetes mellitus | 2 (5.7) | 11 (18.6) | 0.079 |
Chronic kidney disease | 1 (2.9) | 10 (16.9) | 0.030 |
Dyslipidemia | 3 (8.6) | 16 (27.1) | 0.001 |
Smoking | 6 (17.1) | 15 (25.4) | 0.351 |
Thrombotic event | |||
Arterial | 3 (8.6) | 18 (30.5) | 0.014 |
Overall | 3 (8.6) | 19 (32.2) | 0.009 |
Hemorrhagic event | 1 (2.9) | 7 (11.9) | 0.130 |
Follow-up, yr | 6.3±5.8 | 3.2±3.6 | 0.002 |
Data are presented as number (%) or mean±standard deviation..
Abbreviations: AAC, abdominal aortic calcification; CALR, calreticulin; IPSET, International Prognostic Score in Essential Thrombocythemia; LDH, lactate dehydrogenase; R-IPSET-T, revised IPSET-thrombosis; ULN, upper limit of normal; VAF, variant allele frequency..
Risk factors for thrombotic vascular events occurring before or at diagnosis of essential thrombocythemia (N=94)..
Univariate analysis | Multivariate analysis | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
OR | 95% CI | P | OR | 95% CI | P | ||
Age >60 yr | 3.59 | 1.20–10.79 | 0.023 | 1.52 | 0.35–6.72 | 0.578 | |
Male | 1.42 | 0.54–3.70 | 0.475 | - | - | - | |
Volumetric splenomegaly | 0.37 | 0.14–1.03 | 0.056 | - | - | - | |
WBC >11.0×109/L | 0.67 | 0.64–4.36 | 0.298 | - | - | - | |
Monocyte >1.0×109/L | 2.06 | 0.54–7.84 | 0.287 | - | - | - | |
Neutrophil/lymphocyte >4.0 | 3.22 | 1.20–8.68 | 0.021 | 1.84 | 0.57–5.69 | 0.322 | |
Platelet >1,000×109/L | 2.33 | 0.86–6.25 | 0.095 | - | - | - | |
LDH >1.5×ULN | 1.01 | 0.29–3.48 | 0.989 | - | - | - | |
Positive JAK2V617F | 2.87 | 1.05–8.63 | 0.048 | 2.33 | 0.75–7.18 | 0.142 | |
Hypertension | 1.57 | 0.59–4.22 | 0.368 | - | - | - | |
Diabetes mellitus | 2.35 | 0.68–8.12 | 0.176 | - | - | - | |
Chronic kidney disease | 5.03 | 1.36–18.55 | 0.015 | 3.66 | 0.95–14.06 | 0.059 | |
Dyslipidemia | 0.84 | 0.25–2.87 | 0.787 | - | - | - | |
Smoking | 1.93 | 0.66–5.64 | 0.227 | - | - | - | |
AAC | 5.07 | 1.38–18.65 | 0.015 | 4.12 | 1.11–15.85 | 0.034 |
Abbreviations: AAC, abdominal aortic calcification; CI, confidence interval; LDH, lactate dehydrogenase; OR, odds ratio; ULN, upper limit of normal..
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