Can Serum B12 Level Be Used As An Effective Differential Criterion In Differential Diagnosis Of Primary And Secondary Polycythemia?

Aim: JAK2 V617F mutation is determined in 95% of polycythemia vera (PV) patients. However, this test is a high-cost and time-consuming examination. In this study, a rapid, inexpensive and easily available test that can be used in addition to JAK2 V617F mutation is planned to exclude secondary polycythemia (SP).

Patients and Methods: A total of 39 PV patients and 51 SP patients, who were diagnosed according to 2016 diagnostic criteria of World Health Organization, have been included in this study. Demographics, physical examination findings and laboratory results of patients have been determined. A statistical analysis was performed between these two groups.

Results: In PV group, serum vitamin B12 level, erythrocyte count, leukocyte count, neutrophil count, platelet count and lactate dehydrogenase levels were determined to be statistically significantly higher than SP group. Serum vitamin B12 level above 343 pg/mL has been determined as the threshold value for the differentiation of PV from SP.

Conclusion: High serum vitamin B12 level was determined to be associated with PV. However, there is a need for prospective studies performed with larger patient series supporting the data obtained in this study in order for serum vitamin B12 level to be used in the differential diagnosis of primary and secondary polycythemia.