Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS)
Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS) are a group of blood disorders where the bone marrow either fails to make mature blood cells, or immature cells build up and crowd out normal cells preventing them from developing normally.
This often results in the bone marrow producing too few blood cells leading to: 1) A low white blood cell count (neutropenia), which can increase the risk of infection; 2) A low red blood cell count (anemia), which may contribute to weakness, fatigue, or shortness of breath; or 3) A low platelet count (thrombocytopenia), which can increase the risk of bleeding. Depending upon the type of MDS, some patients have neutropenia, AND anemia, AND thrombocytopenia.
In newly diagnosed cases of MDS, the causes are not always known. This is sometimes referred to as “de novo” MDS. However, exposure to certain chemicals, radiation, and chemotherapy are known to increase the risk of MDS. When causes are known, this is referred to as "secondary MDS." There are various subtypes of MDS and treatment depends on the specific subtype and risk level. High risk patients may be treated more aggressively than low risk patients. The effectiveness of treatment often depends upon the type of MDS as not all types respond the same way to treatment.