Myelodysplastic Syndrome & Myeloproliferative Disease (MDS & MPD)

Background

The myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS, formerly known as “preleukemia”) are a diverse collection of hematological conditions united by ineffective production (dysplasia) of myeloid blood cells; these conditions risk transformation to acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). Myelodysplastic syndromes are bone marrow stem cell disorders resulting in disorderly and ineffective hematopoiesis manifested by irreversible quantitative and qualitative defects in hematopoietic cells. In a majority of cases, the course of disease is chronic with gradually worsening cytopenias due to progressive bone marrow failure. Approximately one-third of patients with MDS progress to AML within months to a few years.