Managing patients with low-risk MDS

Supportive care with blood transfusion and administration of hematopoietic growth factors (eg, erythropoietin, colony-stimulating factors) has been the standard of care for patients with low-risk myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), a group of disorders characterized by hyperproliferation of the bone marrow and ineffective hematopoiesis. However, the development of new drugs, including lenalidomide, azacitidine, and decitabine, has led to a new era of more effective treatment for MDS. Further, the use of classification and risk stratification has allowed for the identification of individuals who are expected to benefit from some therapies while simultaneously excluding over-treatment and unnecessary toxicity in those who are unlikely to benefit from specific drugs. In this Clinical Roundtable Monograph, the faculty discusses the epidemiology, classification, and risk stratification for MDS, medical and nursing issues associated with supportive care and the new therapies for low-risk MDS, and patient education and other strategies for the optimization of quality of life in patients with low-risk MDS.