Evolving Perspectives on PV Management and Patient Impact

In this opening section, the faculty set the stage by reframing polycythemia vera as a chronic malignancy with substantial long term impact on patients’ daily lives. While PV has traditionally been managed through hematocrit control and thrombosis prevention, the experts emphasize that this narrow focus often fails to capture the true burden of disease. Recent clinical trial data, including findings from VERIFY, are encouraging clinicians to rethink what meaningful disease control should look like in contemporary practice.

The discussion highlights differences in how PV is perceived across practice settings. In many community settings, PV may be viewed as relatively indolent, leading to less urgency around symptom assessment and follow up. In contrast, academic clinicians often see the cumulative effects of chronic fatigue, cognitive impairment, and emotional stress that patients experience over decades of disease. These differing perspectives can influence monitoring frequency, therapeutic escalation, and how proactively symptoms are addressed.

Faculty stress that patients with PV often appear outwardly well and may continue working and functioning, which can mask significant underlying symptom burden. If clinicians do not ask targeted questions, patients may not volunteer these concerns. The experts underscore the importance of broadening the definition of disease control to include quality of life, cognitive function, and functional capacity alongside laboratory parameters. Aligning community and academic approaches around these principles is presented as an essential step toward improving patient outcomes and ensuring that advances in clinical research translate into real world benefits.