Because of these concerns, many clinicians use hydroxyurea for patients who require cytoreductive therapy. Additional follow-up and other confirmatory trials are required. Radioisotope phosphorous-32, alkylating agent therapy, or hydroxyurea. For asymptomatic patients, no treatment is necessary. The profound anemia which develops in this disease usually requires red blood cell transfusion.
Androgens are sometimes helpful in raising the hematocrit.
Painful splenomegaly can be treated temporarily with chemotherapy or radiation therapy, but often requires splenectomy. This is probably a variant of acute megakaryocytic leukemia. Interferon alfa is under clinical evaluation. Some citations in the text of this section are followed by a level of evidence. The PDQ editorial boards use a formal ranking system to help the reader judge the strength of evidence linked to the reported results of a therapeutic strategy.