The results of the present study showed that for patients with JAK2V617F mutation-positive ET and PV, there were no significant differences in the overall response rate between the groups treated with IFN-α or HU; however, the patients treated with IFN-α had a significantly higher 5-year progression-free survival (PFS) than those treated with HU. Here, IFNA1 is linked to acquired polycythemia vera.