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How Common are the diseases |
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An orphan disease is defined by the National Institute of Health as any disease that affects less than 200,000 people in the United States at any given time. Because of the small populations affected by these diseases, pharmaceutical companies and biotech companies rarely pursue treatments. There are 6,000 orphan diseases that affect 25 million Americans.
The MPDs are classified as orphan diseases. The actual incidence is difficult to measure since many people affected are asymptomatic until the occurrence of a major consequence such as a thrombosis or stroke. Even then, incidence of the disease may be undiagnosed and therefore uncounted. MPD statistics are not even measured by SEER (Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program of the National Cancer Institute), the most authoritative source of information on cancer incidence and survival in the United States, even though the incidence of these diseases matches or exceeds other measured cancers such as Multiple Myeloma and Chronic Myeloid Leukemia.
The most complete statistics to date on MPD incidence come from a Swedish study in 2001, which shows the following:
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Incidence of Myeloproliferative Disorders
Annual Incidence/100,000 Population |
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