Myelodysplastic syndromes: recent progress in diagnosis and understanding of their pathophysiology

Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are common malignant disorders with a poor prognosis. MDS are a group of highly heterogeneous disorders but show certain universal findings including a high incidence in the elderly population, cytopenia, dysplastic myeloid cells, and frequent transformation to acute myeloid leukemia. Until recently, the vast majority of MDS patients were treated with supportive therapy alone, such as transfusions. Allogeneic stem cell transplantation (SCT) has the potential for cure, although due to the age and comorbidity of MDS patients, the role of allogeneic SCT in MDS has been limited. Recently, research in MDS has shown substantial advances that have deepened our understanding of MDS pathophysiology and changed our approach to MDS patients. This review touches on some recent developments in the diagnosis and pathophysiology of MDS.