The MDS Beacon™

In general, indicators of a good MDS prognosis include normal or moderately reduced white blood cell or platelet counts, less than 20 percent of blasts in the bone marrow, and abnormal red blood cells (ringed sideroblasts). Also, young patients typically have a better prognosis than older patients.

By contrast, indicators of poor MDS prognosis include a severe lack of white blood cells or platelets, blast percentages between 20 to 29 percent, and the presence of blasts in the blood (Auer rods).

Karyotypes, which are organized profiles of an individual’s chromosomes arranged by size and type, are also used to give prognoses. An abnormal karyotype that shows complex bone marrow chromosome abnormalities is an indicator of a poor prognosis.

Chromosomal aberrations are also good predictors of an MDS patient’s prognosis. Patients with an extra copy of chromosome 8, a missing Y chromosome, or a missing part of chromosome 5 (the ‘q’ arm) are more likely to have a better prognosis than patients with other abnormalities.

Patients with chromosome 7 anomalies, or more than three chromosomal abnormalities, are more likely to have a poorer prognosis.

MDS patients with over 20 to 30 percent of immature stem cells (blasts) are considered to have acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), a form of cancer.

Approximately one-third of MDS patients progress to AML. The risk of MDS transforming into AML increases with prior exposure to chemotherapy and radiation treatment.  It also is higher among older MDS patients than among younger MDS patients.

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