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Updated: Jun 14, 2026

Identifying Bone Marrow Microenvironmental Populations in Myelodysplastic Syndrome and Acute Myeloid Leukemia
Published on: November 10, 2023
Epigenetic changes in the myelodysplastic syndrome
1Department of Leukemia, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe, Houston, TX 77030, USA. jpissa@mdanderson.org
Abstract:
Epigenetic mechanisms, such as DNA methylation and histone modifications, drive stable, clonally propagated changes in gene expression and can therefore serve as molecular mediators of pathway dysfunction in neoplasia. Myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) is characterized by frequent epigenetic abnormalities, including the hypermethylation of genes that control proliferation, adhesion, and other characteristic features of this leukemia. Aberrant DNA hypermethylation is associated with a poor prognosis in MDS that can be accounted for by more rapid progression to acute myeloid leukemia. In turn, treatment with drugs that modify epigenetic pathways (DNA methylation and histone deacetylation inhibitors) induces durable remissions and prolongs life in MDS, offering some hope and direction in the future management of this deadly disease.
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