Myelodysplastic syndrome with eosinophilia in bone marrow. Gunma Haematology Study Group

Clinical features were investigated in 114 patients with de novo myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) diagnosed over the past 10 years, and eight cases (7%) were complicated with eosinophilia in the bone marrow. Two patients had refractory anaemia (RA), five had RA with excess of blasts (RAEB), and one had RAEB in transformation. Their bone marrow cells exhibited tri-lineage dysplasia and morphological abnormalities in eosinophils. Cytogenetics revealed major karyotype abnormalities (MAKA) in five patients. Survival durations were significantly shorter than those of other MDS patients. Our study suggests that marrow eosinophilia in MDS is strongly related to the coexistence of MAKA.