title: The Myelodysplastic Syndromes: Pathobiology and Clinical Management (Basic and Clinical Oncology)
author: John Bennett
description: <br />very informative, comprehensive, and well-edited.<br /><br />-The Bulletin of the Royal College of Pathologists
zlib_text: MYELODYSPLASTIC SYNDROMES
  785
  CHAPTER 37
  Myelodysplastic
  syndromes
  Jorge E. Cortes, MD, Alan List, MD, and Hagop Kantarjian, MD
  Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are a group of hematologic disorders of
  the pluripotent hematopoietic stem cells. These disorders are characterized by
  ineffective hematopoiesis, including abnormalities in proliferation, differ-
  entiation, and apoptosis. The overall clinical result is peripheral cytopenias in
  the setting of a normocellular or hypercellular bone marrow and a high inci-
  dence of transformation to acute leukemia.
  The incidence of MDS is about 2 cases per 100,000 population per year, with
  30 cases per 100,000 population per year in patients > 70 years old. At least
  10,000 new cases are diagnosed annually in the United States.
  Epidemiology
  Gender The overall incidence of MDS is slightly higher in males than in fe-
  males (1.5-2.0:1).
  Age MDS is a disease associated with age, with a median age at diagnosis of
  about 70 years. MDS is rare in children; c