At the 14th Congress of the European Hematology Association (EHA), researchers from several South Korean hospitals presented a two year study in which they analyzed the outcome of Vidaza (azacitidine) treatments in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) patients who had a variety of pretreatment risk assessments. Their results indicated that patients’ pretreatment risk groups were a significant factor in predicting their response to this treatment.

Before starting any type of treatment, patients are assessed and analyzed so that doctors can determine the best course of therapy in terms of treatment intensity. They…

The 45th meeting of the American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) provided a forum for myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) research from the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. At the meeting, researchers presented a study that investigated the use of hypomethylating agents Vidaza (azacitidine) and Dacogen (decitabine) for patients with decreased kidney function and concluded that both agents are effective in this patient group.

Vidaza and Dacogen are hypomethylating, or demethylating, agents that allow DNA sequences to function normally. They remove methyl groups that are bound 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…

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,…

Strategies for the optimization of epigenetic therapies for myelodysplastic syndromes were covered at the 10th International Symposium on Myelodysplastic Syndromes (ISMDS). Several speakers presented their work, including Valeria Santini from the University of Florence, who discussed the activity of Vidaza (azacitidine) and Dacogen (decitabine) in the treatment of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS).

Epigenetic therapy is the use of drugs to correct mistakes in the production of protein from DNA. These mistakes are commonly the result of environmental factors, and result in the production of…