Polycythemia vera (PV) is a chronic myeloproliferative disorder that can evolve to marrow fibrosis or acute leukemia (AML). Cytogenetic alterations can be detected in around 25% of patients at diagnosis and in up to 50% of those with progression. We report a case of PV with evolution to AML in which it was possible to demonstrate the two-hit model of leukemogenesis: one mutation confers proliferative advantage and another interferes with differentiation. Case: A 55-year-old female patient was diagnosed with PV in 2002 and treated with phlebotomies and hydroxyurea. In 2006, there was progression topost-polycythemic fibrosis with AML one year later. She presented the JAK2V617F mutation. The result of karyotyping performed at diagnosis was normal and at transformation, 46,XX,del(20)(q13.1) was detected in 4/20 metaphases. FISH analysis of a stored sample for 20q13 showed the deletion in 20% of interphases confirming the earlier presence of a clonal abnormality that was not detected by karyotyping. The JAK2V617F mutation is sufficient to cause proliferation of hematopoietic cells and has been established as a primary pathogenetic mechanism in PV. However, the evolution of the disease is heterogeneous, suggesting the occurrence of additional phenomena contributing to leukemogenesis. This case demonstrates the two-hit model in the progression of PV to LMA, in which a class of mutation induces proliferative advantage and another blocks differentiation. Two events which contribute to proliferation and to maturation blockade were detected in this patient. Other mechanisms may be implicated and prospective studies should be encouraged in an attempt to elucidate the different steps involved in leukemogenesis.
20q deletion; JAK2
