The MDS Beacon™

At the European Hematology Association 14th Congress, held in Berlin, German researchers showed that older myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) patients could also be considered as candidates for allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT).

Allogeneic HCT, the replacement of abnormal patient bone marrow with healthy donor stem cells, is the only therapy known to cure MDS. However, the possibility of graft versus host disease, in which donated stem cells react against the patient’s tissue, and other complications, limit the number of MDS patients who undergo HCT. Though studies have shown allogeneic HCT to…

At the European Hematology Association 14^th Congress in Berlin, researchers from Australia showed high-risk myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) patients receiving more treatment cycles of Vidaza (azacitidine) were more likely to become transfusion-independent and have longer overall survival.

Red blood cell (RBC) or platelet transfusions are types of conventional supportive care that are necessary for patients whose bone marrow is unable to make sufficient amounts of healthy cells. These courses of therapy, however, only treat symptoms caused by low blood cell counts, and do not cure MDS or prevent acute…

Researchers from the Instituto Di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico in Italy presented a systematic review of 10 thalidomide treatment studies at the 14th Congress of the European Hematology Association (EHA). They found that thalidomide (Thalomid) doses provide effective and tolerable therapy for certain myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) patients, particularly patients with recent diagnoses and low International Prognostic Score System (IPSS) scores.

The researchers reviewed 10 Phase 1-2 studies of thalidomide treatment, examining the efficacy of the drug in the treatment of 527 MDS patients. The majority of studies recorded…

Israeli researchers presented the effectiveness of hypomethylating agents Vidaza (azacitidine) and Dacogen (decitabine) on improving overall survival of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) patients. This information was presented at the European Hematology Association (EHA) 14th Congress in Berlin.

Methyl groups that are bound to DNA sequences cause problems by preventing the regulation of cellular growth and causing uncontrollable cell division. Hypomethylating or demethylating agents, like Vidaza or Dacogen, allow the DNA sequences to function normally by removing these problematic methyl groups.

Researchers found four relevant randomized controlled trials,…