The MDS Beacon™

Treatment with treosulfan and fludarabine was effective and caused few negative side effects in myelodysplastic syndromes patients receiving donor stem cell transplants, according to a recent clinical trial conducted by researchers in Washington and Oregon.

By the end of the trial, all surviving patients successfully achieved complete engraftment of the donor stem cells, meaning that the donor stem cells began producing healthy blood cells and none of the patient’s stem cells remained.  Overall, the treatment was particularly effective in patients categorized as low- or standard-risk based on their genetics.

Only…

A recent study of myelodysplastic syndromes patients who received a donor stem cell transplant showed that the percentage of donor versus patient stem cells in the bone marrow or blood may be able to predict relapse.

Stem cell transplants for myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) patients are usually performed by giving the patient stem cells from a healthy donor. This is the only known cure for MDS.

Ideally, the patient’s blood-forming stem cells are destroyed and replaced by the donor’s healthy stem cells. The donor’s cells then grow in the patient and…

South Korean researchers have shown that myelodysplastic syndromes patients treated with Dacogen experienced fewer episodes of fever when given preventative antibiotic treatment.

“Preventative antibiotic treatment will reduce the infection risk of MDS patients receiving hypomethylating agents, especially during earlier treatment cycles and in the presence of severely low blood cell counts”, explained Dr. Je-Hwan Lee of the University of Ulsan College of Medicine and lead author of the study in an email to The MDS Beacon.

Dacogen (decitabine) is approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for the…

Results of a recent study suggest that serum albumin, a protein in blood, may be a good factor to determine the prognoses of acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndromes patients who have received an allogeneic stem cell transplant.

Stem cell transplantation is the only known cure for myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). When patients undergo an allogeneic stem cell transplant, they receive healthy stem cells from a donor (For more information about stem cell transplantation, please see the related Beacon article).

However, not all patients are suitable for transplants, and more…

Chinese researchers have found in a pilot study that cyclosporine and thalidomide combination treatment led to improved blood counts and was well-tolerated in myelodysplastic syndromes patients.

“This is the first report that cyclosporine combined with thalidomide could improve the response in low or intermediate-risk myelodysplastic syndromes patients who are not candidates for intensive approaches,” wrote Dr. Zhijian Xiao, one of the study researchers, in an email to The MDS Beacon.

Cyclosporine (Sandimmune) is a drug that suppresses the immune system. It is widely used after patients receive organs from a…

Researchers from Spain have found that transfusion intensity may be more closely associated with poorer prognosis in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) patients than the total number of red blood cell transfusions.

“Our results show that 60 percent of the association strength between transfusion burden and acute leukemia-free survival is mediated by transfusion intensity,” wrote Dr. Arturo Pereira from Hospital Clinic in Barcelona in an email to The MDS Beacon. 

Dr. Pereira presented the findings at the 15^th Congress of the European Hematology Association (EHA) in Barcelona, Spain, last month.

Transfusion intensity…

Researchers in Germany showed that myelodysplastic syndromes patients have significantly higher rates of overall and relapse-free survival and lower rates of side effects when treated with a treosulfan-based chemotherapy than with a standard total body irradiation-based therapy before stem cell transplantation.

Stem cell transplants are currently the only curative treatment available for myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). They require patients to be treated with chemotherapy or radiation to prepare their bodies for the procedure. However, these initial treatments are associated with severe side effects.

The majority of MDS patients are older people…

A recent study suggests that Vidaza is effective and safe in both lower- and higher-risk myelodysplastic syndromes patients 75 years of age or older. Vidaza administered for five consecutive days was found to be the preferred dosing schedule for elderly patients.

These findings were presented at the 15th Congress of the European Hematology Association (EHA) in Barcelona, Spain, last month.

Previous studies have shown that Vidaza (azacitidine) improves overall survival in higher-risk elderly myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) patients (see related Beacon news article). However, little is known about Vidaza’s efficacy…

For patients with low-risk myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), a combination therapy of vitamins K2 and D3 may improve low red blood cell and low platelet counts, according to a Phase 2 clinical trial conducted by Japanese researchers and published in the journal Leukemia Research.

While treatment options exist for low-risk MDS patients, such as Revlimid (lenalidomide), Vidaza (azacitidine), and Dacogen (decitabine), patients are not always responsive to such therapies. Researchers, therefore, are always looking for treatment alternatives.

The Japanese researchers explored vitamins K2 and D3 as alternative treatment options for low-risk,…

Results from a recent study suggest that treatment with Vidaza or Dacogen is effective for myelodysplastic syndromes patients before they receive donor stem cell transplants. Researchers from South Korea presented these findings at the 2010 European Hematology Association (EHA) Congress.

Stem cell transplantation in which abnormal bone marrow is replaced with healthy donor marrow is the only therapy known to cure myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). Vidaza (azacitidine) and Dacogen (decitabine), similar types of drugs that both suppress MDS, can be used to reduce the number of diseased blood cells in the…