Liver and Spleen Point Shear-Wave Elastography in Newly Diagnosed BCR-ABL1-Negative Myeloproliferative Neoplasms: Associations with Hematologic Parameters and Bone Marrow Fibrosis Grade - A Prospective Cross-Sectional Study
Objective: To quantify liver and spleen stiffness at diagnosis in treatment-naive BCR::ABL1-negative myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) using point shear-wave elastography (pSWE), and to explore associations with hematologic parameters and bone marrow fibrosis grade. Materials and Methods: Prospective pSWE was performed in 33 treatment-naive patients with BCR::ABL1-negative MPNs (essential thrombocythemia [ET] n=13, primary myelofibrosis [PMF] n=12, polycythemia vera [PV] n=8) and 31 age- and sex-matched controls. Shear-wave velocity (Vs, m/s) was recorded as the median of ≥10 valid measurements per organ, with interquartile range/median <30% as the reliability criterion. Correlations with blood counts and bone marrow fibrosis grade were evaluated. ROC analysis was exploratory because of the modest sample size and limited high-grade fibrosis cases. Results: Hepatic Vs was higher in patients than controls (1.21 [1.09-1.34] vs 0.98 [0.86-1.11] m/s; p<0.01), whereas splenic Vs was similar (3.09 [2.76-3.50] vs 3.21 [2.91-3.44] m/s; p=0.41). Hepatic Vs correlated with leukocyte count (r=0.47; p<0.01) and bone marrow fibrosis grade (r=0.47; p<0.05). Hepatic Vs identified MF grade 3 with an AUC of 0.77; however, the proposed cut-off of ≥1.22 m/s should be interpreted as a preliminary research threshold rather than a clinically validated decision point. Conclusion: At diagnosis, hepatic stiffness is increased in this treatment-naive BCR::ABL1-negative MPN cohort and shows a modest association with marrow fibrosis grade and leukocyte count. Splenic stiffness is not increased in this mixed-subtype cohort. These findings support hepatic pSWE as a hypothesis-generating adjunct to baseline phenotyping, not a replacement for bone marrow biopsy or hematologic risk assessment.
Authors
- Sadık Tamsel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8749-782X)
- Mehmet Taha Avci (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0216-5592)
- Nazan Özsan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7844-972X)
- Mine Hekimgil (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9454-4521)
- Ayhan Dönmez (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7304-5424)
- Gülgün Kavukçu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6866-7256)
- Suha Ozbek
- Hatice Demet Kiper Unal
- Melda Cömert
Institutions
- Ege University (TR)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Turkish Journal of Hematology
- Published
- 2026-04-27
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.4274/tjh.galenos.2026.77528
- Primary Topic
- Myeloproliferative Neoplasms: Diagnosis and Treatment
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00