You probably have not heard of myelodysplastic syndromes or MDS unless you or someone you know have it. This is understandable. There are only a few online resources about MDS. If you want to learn more about this condition, read on.
What is MDS?
MDS, or Myelodysplastic syndromes, are various diseases that affect the blood, variously linked to the incorrect development of bone marrow that contains blood cells. This results in a decrease in the number of different types of blood cells being produced.
MDS is a set of disorders that impact blood cell production rather than a single disease. A chronic bone marrow disorder causes low levels of blood cells to circulate in the bloodstream in all subtypes of MDS.
MDS becomes increasingly frequent as individuals age, and it can also affect children more often in males than in women. MDS, in some circumstances, is associated with risk factors such as having chemotherapy or radiotherapy, referred to as secondary MDS.
To know more about what MDS is, here are some essential facts:
- MDS might be symptom-less or manifest symptoms connected to the afflicted blood cell type.
Here are some of them:
- Anemia (low red blood cell count) that causes fatigue and shortness of breath.
- Infections are caused by a low white blood cell count (leukopenia).
- Thrombocytopenia (low platelet count) makes it easy for the body to bruise and bleed.
- It is more likely to occur in men than in women.
In the United States, between 10,000 and 15,000 persons are diagnosed with MDS each year. It happens in men more. The cause for this is unknown. However, it might be related to men’s history of being more prone to smoke or being exposed to specific chemicals in the workplace. Hazards in the workplace or the environment are the main factors. MDS may be exacerbated by long-term exposure to benzene, cigarette smoke, pesticides, and other chemicals.
- MDS may progress in two ways.
The first one is that most patients with MDS generate or survive fewer and fewer healthy blood cells. This can result in severe Anemia (low RBCs), increased infection risk (low WBCs), or extreme bleeding risk (due to low platelets).
The second one is that in about 30 percent of people with MDS, the number of very immature abnormal cells in the marrow (blast cells, or blasts) increases, and MDS transforms into acute leukemia. MDS is sometimes known as preleukemia or smoldering leukemia because of this.
Types of MDS
There are six main types (subtypes) of MDS that the World Health Organization classified.
They are the following:
1. MDS with multilineage dysplasia (MDS-MLD)
MDS of this type is the most prevalent. In the bone marrow, it is found in at least 10% of the early cells of two or three cell types (red blood cells, white blood cells, and megakaryocytes [platelet-making cells]).
2. MDS with excess blasts (MDS-EB)
About one-fourth of MDS cases are of this kind. It is one of the varieties most likely to develop into AML, with MDS-EB2 having a greater risk than MDS-EB1. There are more blasts in the bone marrow and blood in this kind of MDS. A person’s blood cell count is also low in at least one kind. The bone marrow may or may not have significant abnormalities in this subtype.
3. MDS with single lineage dysplasia (MDS-SLD)
This form of MDS is unusual. It seldom, if ever, becomes acute myeloid leukemia (AML). It’s found in at least 10% of the bone marrow’s early cells of one cell type (red blood cells, white blood cells, or megakaryocytes [platelet-making cells]).
4. MDS with isolated del(5q)
This form of MDS is odd. It is more common in older women. Patients with this form of MDS have a favorable prognosis for unknown reasons. They tend to live long lives and seldom get AML. The chromosomes of bone marrow cells lack part of chromosomal number 5 in this kind of MDS. A person with dysplasia in at least one cell type in the bone marrow also has low levels of one or two types of blood cells (typically red blood cells).
5. MDS with ring sideroblasts (MDS-RS)
This form of MDS is uncommon. It seldom progresses to AML, and persons with this kind of MDS have a better prognosis than those with other types of MDS. Many early red blood cells in this kind of MDS are ring sideroblasts. For this diagnosis, at least 15% of the early red blood cells must be ring sideroblasts (or at least 5 percent if the cells also have a mutation in the SF3B1 gene).
6. MDS, unclassifiable (MDS-U)
Because this variety is rare, it hasn’t been examined well enough to predict prognosis. The blood and bone marrow results in MDS-U do not match any other kind of MDS. For example, while the amount of any given cell type may be low in the blood, fewer than 10% of that cell type appears aberrant in the bone marrow. Alternatively, the cells in the bone marrow have at least one chromosomal aberration found only in MDS or leukemia.
Clinical Classifications of MDS
There are Two Clinical Classifications of MDS. This is aside from the WHO classification.
These two types are:
- Primary MDS occurs when there is no identifiable etiology. (This is the most prevalent variety.)
- Secondary MDS occurs when the etiology of the illness is identified. It is frequently linked to previous cancer therapy or occurs in someone who has already had a bone marrow illness.
Knowing more about MDS will help you understand people living with it. Besides research and mds new treatment, an awareness drive can also help people view this condition from a more informed perspective.