[Myelodysplastic diseases in childhood]

The myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are a group of hematopoietic neoplasms characterized by ineffective hematopoiesis and a high risk of transformation in acute leukemia. Pathogenesis and clinical course of these disorders are heterogenous. MDS is unusual in childhood, and differential diagnosis is specially broad in this age group. Allogenic bone marrow transplantation is the treatment of choice. Therapy with hematopoietic growth factors can overcome the maturation defect of the malignant clone in some instances. Multicenter studies are necessary to accumulate sufficient data on pathogenesis, clinical course and treatment results of MDS in childhood.