Researchers from the MD Anderson Cancer Center recently confirmed that the presence of other diseases significantly impacts the survival of patients with myelodysplastic syndromes. They found that patients with severe other diseases, such as heart disease or other cancers, had a 50 percent decrease in survival time compared to patients without other diseases, and this finding was independent of the patients’ ages and IPSS risk groups.
Based on their findings, the study authors suggested that the assessment of other diseases…
Some of the latest in research on myelodysplastic syndromes will be presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s 2011 Annual Meeting, set to take place Friday, June 3, through Tuesday, June 7, in Chicago.
More than 30,000 clinical specialists from all over the world are expected to attend the five-day meeting to discuss the current research in cancer treatment and care. This year’s meeting will primarily focus on the theme of “Patients, Pathways, Progress.”
The meeting will include several…
A group of German and Austrian researchers recently found that chromosomal and genetic abnormalities associated with poor risk contain the same prognostic value for myelodysplastic syndromes patients as the percentage of immature blood cells in the bone marrow.
Based on this data, they recommended revisions to the IPSS risk-classification system to assign higher weight to poor-risk chromosomal and genetic (cytogenetic) abnormalities.
“Cytogenetics have turned out to be the most relevant prognostic parameters; thus, in every patient with MDS or suspected…
French researchers recently found that a mutation in the TET2 gene improved response rates to Vidaza in myelodysplastic syndromes patients, but it did not have a positive impact on response duration or survival.
The researchers explained that the mutation may increase patients’ sensitivity to Vidaza treatment and therefore lead to better response rates. However, they pointed out that further studies are needed to confirm their findings.
The ten-eleven-translocation 2 (TET2) gene encodes a protein that suppresses tumor growth. According to…