Is essential thrombocythemia inherited ?
Most cases of essential thrombocythemia are not inherited. Instead, the condition arises from gene mutations that occur in early blood-forming cells after conception. These alterations are called somatic mutations.  Less commonly, essential thrombocythemia is inherited in an autosomal dominant pattern, which means one copy of the altered gene in each cell is sufficient to cause the disorder. When it is inherited, the condition is called familial essential thrombocythemia.