[Refractory anemia with an excess of blasts: evidence for 2 evolving groups in a group of 56 patients]

Cytological and kinetic findings in 56 patients with refractory anemia with excess blasts (RAEB) were studied. The different statistical methods used produce similar results: our group of patients can be separated by cytological parameters in two populations (overt leukemic or hematologically stable evolution). Different functional lesions may be responsible for these two types; pluripotential stem cell dysfunction in the first case and abnormality of the granulocytic committed stem cell in the second. A score, based on a small number of simple and reliable parameters, is able to distinguish these two populations.