RT Book, Section A1 Bueso-Ramos, Carlos A1 Garcia-Manero, Guillermo A2 Kantarjian, Hagop M. A2 Wolff, Robert A. SR Print(0) ID 1126740117 T1 Myelodysplastic Syndromes: The MD Anderson Cancer Center Approach T2 The MD Anderson Manual of Medical Oncology, 3e YR 2016 FD 2016 PB McGraw-Hill Medical PP New York, NY SN 9780071847940 LK hemonc.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1126740117 RD 2024/03/28 AB Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) refer to a group of hematopoietic disorders characterized by ineffective hematopoiesis and increased risk of transformation to acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). Most patients with MDS succumb to causes related to the disease. The median age of patients with MDS is 70 to 75 years. It is likely that environmental factors play an important role in the pathogenesis of this disease. Myelodysplastic syndromes are classified according to the World Health Organization (WHO) criteria, and a number of prognostic scores can be used to calculate survival and risk of transformation. Cytogenetic, genomic, and epigenetic alterations are common in MDS and help in the prediction of prognosis and potentially in the selection of therapy. Over the last decade, we have witnessed significant improvements in supportive care and therapeutic modalities for patients with MDS. These include growth factors, immune modulatory agents (lenalidomide), and hypomethylating agents (5-azacitidine and decitabine). We also better understand patient subgroups, such as those with hypomethylating failure disease. In this chapter, we summarize our knowledge of MDS and the treatment approach we use at MD Anderson Cancer Center.