Myelodysplastic syndromes: the complexity of stem-cell diseases.

Corey, Seth J; Minden, Mark D; Barber, Dwayne L; Kantarjian, Hagop; Wang, Jean C Y; Schimmer, Aaron D · Nat Rev Cancer · 2007

review · Level V

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Abstract

The prevalence of patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) is increasing owing to an ageing population and increased awareness of these diseases. MDS represent many different conditions, not just a single disease, that are grouped together by several clinical characteristics. A striking feature of MDS is genetic instability, and a large proportion of cases result in acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). We Review three emerging principles of MDS biology: stem-cell dysfunction and the overlap with AML, genetic instability and the deregulation of apoptosis, in the context of inherited bone marrow-failure syndromes, and treatment-related MDS and AML.

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