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CME: Goals, gaps, and roadmaps: optimizing the management of polycythemia vera and essential thrombocytopenia

Activity Description / Statement of Need:

In this online, self-learning activity:

Polycythemia vera (PV) is an uncommon hematologic malignancy belonging to BCR-ABL1-negative myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs), characterized by activating mutations in JAK2 that cause the proliferation of malignant hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells. PV is characterized by erythrocytosis, thrombocytosis, leukocytosis, and splenomegaly, with approximately 50% of patients presenting symptoms such as fatigue, headache, visual disturbances, and pruritus at diagnosis. Others may be asymptomatic and diagnosed incidentally through blood tests, and as the disease progresses, individuals often experience worsening symptoms along with new ones, including early satiety and inactivity. Approximately 148,000 individuals in the United States have PV; the annual incidence of PV ranges from 0.01 to 2.61 per 100,000 individuals, while its prevalence varies from 45 to 57 per 100,000. Primarily affecting older individuals, PV has an overall median age of 61 years, with less than 10% of cases occurring in those under 40 years old.

Target Audience:

HCPs including but not limited to: hematologists and oncologists; nurse practitioners, nurses, physician assistants, and pharmacists specializing in the aforementioned areas of specialty; and any other HCPs with an interest in or who clinically encounter patients with or at risk for hematologic malignancies.


Commercial Support Disclosure: This program is supported by an educational grant from Merck. 

This activity is free of charge.


Release Date: January 23, 2026 -- Expiration Date: January 23, 2028

Faculty: Eric Tam, MD

Agenda

Faculty introduction, disclosures 

Introductory content: defining the context and challenge of PV & ET

  • Epidemiology
  • Diagnostic methods
  • Clinical presentation and complications
  • Diagnostic delays and their impact
  • The roles of: 
      • Risk assessment of venous and arterial thrombotic events
      • Prognostic scoring and biomarker assessment

Treatment of PV & ET

  • Goals of therapy
  • Current best practices for managing patients with PV or ET, as outlined in the latest clinical guidelines and supported by evidence-based recommendations

o   Phlebotomy

o   Low-dose aspirin

o   Roles and efficacy of cytoreductive therapies

-  Hydroxyurea

-  Interferons

-  Ruxolitinib

-  PD3i for ET

  • Management challenges and solutions

o   Variability in treatment approach

o   Patients who do not respond to initial therapy: non-responsive to or intolerance of hydroxyurea

o   Managing adverse effects

o   Importance of the MDT

o   Patient engagement in shared decision-making, factoring in: determining patient goals, education, symptoms, and risk

o   Consideration of MPNs in patients experiencing thrombotic events

  • Novel, investigational therapies and their potential roles
  • Patient cases(s) 

Summary, conclusions, and best practice recap

Learning Objectives

By the end of the session the participant will be able to:

  • Recall the clinical presentation, diagnostic principles, and complications of PV & ET.
  • Describe the ways in which patient-specific characteristics and provider and patient preferences impact treatment decision-making in PV & ET.
  • Identify the currently available and emerging pharmacotherapeutic treatment options for the management of PV & ET.
  • Summarize challenges to the optimal diagnosis and treatment of PV & ET and strategies for overcoming them.
  • Formulate a treatment plan for a patient with PV or ET.

Accreditation

ACCME Activity #203376112

ScientiaCME is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

Credit Designation: ScientiaCME designates this educational activity for a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™ toward the AMA Physician's Recognition Award. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

CME-MOC_badge

ABIM MOC Recognition Statement: Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the participant to earn up to 1.0 MOC points in the American Board of Internal Medicine's (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program. It is the CME activity provider's responsibility to submit participant completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting ABIM MOC credit.

ABIM MOC Credit Type: Medical Knowledge

Physicians: For maintenance of certification (MOC) points, you must enter your board certification ID # and birth date correctly.  It is the learner's responsibility to provide this information completely and accurately at the completion of the activity. Without providing it, the learner will NOT receive MOC points for this activity. By providing this data, you acknowledge that it will be shared with ACCME and the applicable certifying board. Please note: Not all activities on this site provide MOC points. If this activity does not specify that it provides MOC points in this section, then it does NOT provide MOC points. This activity provides MOC points only for ABIM.

Pharmacists

ScientiaCME is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) as a provider of continuing pharmacy education. This activity is approved for 1.0 contact hours  of continuing pharmacy education credit. Proof of participation will be posted to your NABP CPE profile within 4 to 6 weeks to participants who have successfully completed the post-test. Participants must participate in the entire presentation and complete the course evaluation to receive continuing pharmacy education credit. ACPE #0574-0000-26-005-H01-P. This is an Application (A)-type activity. 

PharmacistsYou must enter your NABP # and birth date correctly so that proof of participation can be posted to your NABP CPE profile. It is the learner's responsibility to provide this information completely and accurately at the completion of the activity. Without providing it, the learner will NOT receive CPE credit for this activity.

Nurses: This activity is designated for up to 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™, and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) accepts AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™ to meet the continuing education renewal requirements of nursing re-certification for APRNs and RN specialty. Some state nursing boards accept AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™ for re-licensure requirements, some do not. Check your state board of nursing's CE requirements before applying credit from this course to your re-licensure.

Physician Assistants: The American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) accepts AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ assigned by organizations accredited by the ACCME as satisfying Category 1 CME for National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA) national certification maintenance. This activity is designated for up to 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™.

Nurse Practitioners: The American Academy of Nurse Practitioners Certification Board (AANPCB) states that continuing education providers accredited by the ACCME may provide acceptable, accredited Advanced Practice Provider content. This activity is designated for up to 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™.


Faculty Disclosure and Resolution of COI

As a provider of continuing medical education, it is the policy of ScientiaCME to ensure balance, independence, objectivity, and scientific rigor in all of its educational activities. In accordance with this policy, faculty and educational planners must disclose any significant relationships with commercial interests whose products or devices may be mentioned in faculty presentations, and any relationships with the commercial supporter of the activity. The intent of this disclosure is to provide the intended audience with information on which they can make their own judgments. Additionally, in the event a conflict of interest (COI) does exist, it is the policy of ScientiaCME to ensure that the COI is resolved in order to ensure the integrity of the CME activity. For this CME activity, any COI has been resolved thru content review by ScientiaCME.

Disclosures of Faculty: Eric Tam, MD, Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine, Department of Medicine, USC Norris Blood and Marrow Transplant Program, Keck Medicine of USC, has no relevant financial disclosures.

Disclosures of Educational Planners: Charles Turck, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP, President of ScientiaCME, has no relevant financial disclosures.  

Faculty WILL NOT discuss off-label uses of a commercial product. 

All relevant financial relationships have been mitigated. 

ScientiaCME adheres to the ACCME’s Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Education. Any individuals in a position to control the content of a CE activity, including faculty, planners, reviewers or others are required to disclose all relevant financial relationships with ineligible entities (commercial interests). All relevant conflicts of interest have been mitigated prior to the commencement of the activity.

Commercial Support Disclosure: This program is supported by an educational grant from Merck. 

Instructions

  • Read the learning objectives above
  • Take the Pre-Test (optional). Completion of the pre-test will help us evaluate the knowledge gained by participating in this CME activity.
  • View the online activity. You may view this is in more than one session, and may pause or repeat any portion of the presentation if you need to.
  • Minimum participation threshold: Take the post-test. A score of 70% or higher is required to pass and proceed to the activity evaluation.
  • Complete the activity evaluation and CME registration. A CE certificate will be emailed to you immediately.

Cultural/Linguistic Competence & Health Disparities

System Requirements

PC
Windows 7 or above
Internet Explorer 8
*Adobe Acrobat Reader
MAC
Mac OS 10.2.8
Safari or Chrome or Firefox
*Adobe Acrobat Reader
Internet Explorer is not supported on the Macintosh

*Required to view Printable PDF Version


Perform Pre-Test (optional)

Please take a few minutes to participate in the optional pre-test. It will help us measure the knowledge gained by participating in this activity.


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