MDS does not turn into leukemia very often and only 1 in 3 patients with MDS will get leukemia as a result of MDS
MDS does not always progress to leukemia but in some cases MDS progresses into acute myeloid leukemia.
Myelodysplastic syndrome was considered the pre leukemia in the past or even smoldering leukemia.
However now that doctors know that not everyone with myelodysplastic syndrome gets leukemia it's not considered pre leukemia anymore.
However myelodysplastic syndrome is a form of cancer and can turn into leukema or acute myeloid leukemia.
The best treatment for MDS is donor stem cell transplant and chemotherapy.
The only way to cure MDS is through a stem cell transplant from a stem cell donor.
The latest treatment for MDS is therapy with hypomethylating agents like 5-azacytidine and it's analog 5-aza-2-deoxycytidine (decitabine).
The age of onset for MDS is 70 years of age although in rare cases MDS can occur and onset by age 50 or sometimes before.
The most common cause of death in MDS is acute myeloid leukemia and bleeding and or infections from low blood cell counts.
MDS cannot be cured without bone marrow transplant as the only known cure for MDS is having a bone marrow transplant and allogeneic blood transplant.
You can survive myelodysplastic syndrome with treatment as some people with myelodysplastic syndrome live for years with little or no treatment.
However in some cases myelodysplastic syndrome is more aggressive and can turn into acute myeloid leukemia that is a disease and cancer that has a poor prognosis and is fatal.
You can live 10 years with MDS with treatment.
However people with higher risk MDS which becomes and progresses to acute myeloid leukemia are likely to live less than 10 years and have a shorter lifespan.
And around 30 out of 100 people with MDS will develop Acute Myeloid Leukemia or AML.
The mildest form of myelodysplastic syndrome is anemia with low platelets or low white blood count.
And the most severe form of myelodysplastic syndrome is when it progresses to acute myeloid leukemia.
MDS patients need blood transfusions as often as every couple of weeks in more severe cases and in less severe cases the MDS patient can sometimes go a few months or longer without a blood transfusion.
MDS is diagnosed through a blood test and through a biopsy and or bone marrow aspirate that shows heavy infiltration with abnormal looking bone marrow cells.
The complete blood count (CBC) is a test that measures the levels of red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets in your blood.
The CBC is often done with a differential count (or “diff”), which is a count of the different types of white blood cells in the blood sample.
MDS cannot and does not spread to other organs like other cancers can and do.
However the abnormal blood cell counts with MDS can affect some certain organs.
There are several different types of MDS, based on how many types of blood cells are affected and other factors.
In about 1 in 3 patients, MDS can progress to a rapidly growing cancer of bone marrow cells called acute myeloid leukemia (AML).
The drug of choice for MDS is azacitidine and decitabine.
The different types of MDS are.
MDS with single lineage dysplasia (MDS-SLD).
MDS with ring sideroblasts (MDS-RS).
MDS with multilineage dysplasia (MDS-MLD).
MDS with excess blasts (MDS-EB).
Myelodysplastic syndrome associated with isolated del (5q) or with one extra chromosome change.
Myelodysplastic syndrome unclassified (MDS-U)
MDS is not usually genetically inherited although in rare cases MDS may be genetically inherited due to genetic changes.
MDS is not a form of anemia although MDS can cause Anemia as well as bleeding and frequent infections that will not stop.
MDS which is Myelodysplastic Syndrome (Myelodysplasia) Myelodysplastic syndrome (also called myelodysplasia or MDS) affects blood stem cells.
Myelodysplastic syndrome or MDS is a condition that can occur when the blood-forming cells in the bone marrow become abnormal.
When this happens it can lead to low numbers of one or more types of blood cells.
MDS is also considered a type of cancer.
Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are a type of rare blood cancer where you don't have enough healthy blood cells.
It's also known as myelodysplasia.
There are many different types of MDS.
Some types can stay mild for years and others are more serious.
Often, it's not known why people without inherited syndromes develop MDS.
Some outside exposures can lead to MDS by damaging the DNA inside bone marrow cells.
For example, tobacco smoke contains chemicals that can damage genes.
The prognosis of MDS is variable. Some people with MDS live for years and require little or no treatment.
For others, MDS is more aggressive and may evolve into acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a disease with a poor prognosis that requires more urgent treatment.
Older age is one of the most important risk factors for MDS.
MDS is uncommon in people younger than 50, and most cases are found in people in their 70s or 80s.
With current treatments, people with lower-risk types of some MDS can live for 5 years or even longer.
People with higher-risk MDS that becomes acute myeloid leukemia (AML) are likely to have a shorter life span.
MDS can develop slowly or quickly depending on the type you have.
Doctors divide the different types of MDS into groups or subtypes.
The system they use is called a classification system.
The most commonly used classification system for MDS in the UK is the World Health Organisation (WHO) system.
The pace of progression of MDS varies.
In some individuals the MDS condition worsens within a few months of diagnosis, while others have relatively little problem for several decades.
In about 50 percent of cases, MDS deteriorates into a form of cancer known as acute myeloid leukemia (AML).
Most often, MDS is not inherited, or passed from parent to child within a family.
However, some genetic changes may increase a person's risk of developing MDS or other similar disorders, such as AML.
This increased risk is called a germline predisposition.
The signs and symptoms of MDS include.
Fatigue.
Weakness.
Shortness of breath.
Lightheadedness.
Easy bruising or bleeding.
Fever.
Frequent infections and bone pain.
Doctors may use blood transfusions to help relieve symptoms in people who have myelodysplastic syndromes characterized by low red blood cell or platelet levels.
Transfusions of red blood cells can help manage the fatigue and weakness associated with anemia.