The MDS Beacon™

An international group of researchers have identified prognostic factors for overall survival and disease progression in myelodysplastic syndromes patients with a deletion in chromosome 5 who received treatment with Revlimid.

They found that having higher platelet counts at the beginning of Revlimid (lenalidomide) treatment and achieving red blood cell transfusion independence for at least 26 weeks were associated with increased overall survival.

Having high transfusion needs at the beginning of treatment and having additional chromosomal abnormalities were associated with an increased risk of progressing to acute myeloid leukemia (AML).…

Results of a recent European study indicate that lower-risk myelodysplastic syndromes patients with a deletion in chromosome 5 may be at an increased risk of progressing to acute myeloid leukemia if they show mutations in gene TP53 early during their disease. 

However, the study authors pointed out that further studies are needed to confirm their findings because their study was small and only a few patients had the specific mutation. 

Mutations in the TP53 gene, a gene that is involved in the production of a tumor suppressor protein, are often…

A recent study found that myelodysplastic syndromes patients with a deletion in chromosome 5 have malignant stem cells that persist through Revlimid-induced remission and may cause relapse.

The study authors therefore suggested that strategies to complement Revlimid therapy should be developed to target the malignant stem cells. 

Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) patients who have missing genetic material from the ‘q’ arm of chromosome 5 frequently reach remission in response to treatment with the drug Revlimid (lenalidomide).  Revlimid has been approved for use in lower risk MDS patients with that chromosomal mutation. …

A group of international experts has found that myelodysplastic syndromes patients with the chromosomal abnormality deletion 5q and two or more additional chromosomal abnormalities have worse overall survival and are more likely to progress to acute myeloid leukemia than patients who only have deletion 5q or one additional abnormality.

“The biggest implication [of our findings] is the confirmation in a large series of cases that cases with deletion 5q and one additional chromosomal abnormality have the same prognosis as patients with deletion 5q as a single anomaly,” said Dr. Francesc…

The side effects of Revlimid (lenalidomide) in the treatment of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are manageable and decrease with additional treatment cycles. Researchers working in multiple centers in Israel and throughout Europe presented these findings at the 2010 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting on June 5.

Revlimid is approved for the treatment of lower risk MDS patients with the chromosomal mutation del-5q. This mutation is characterized by a missing ‘q’ arm in chromosome 5.  Revlimid can help these patients become transfusion independent.

The researchers conducted a closer analysis…