Recent progress in diagnosis and treatment of myelodysplastic syndromes

The myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), which are characterized by the presence of ineffective hematopoiesis and an increased risk of transformation to acute myeloid leukemia (AML), are a group of clonal disorders deriving from damage of the hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells. The 58th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting consists of 5 main subjects, including chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML) and MDS biology and treatment, higher risk MDS clinical studies, lower risk MDS clinical studies, predisposition and diagnosis of MDS, and prognostic and predictive utility of recurrent somatic mutations in MDS. This article will introduce some highlights of the oral reports in this meeting. Key words: Myelodysplastic syndromes; Diagnosis; Prognosis; American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting