Myelodysplastic syndromes: the complexity of stem-cell diseases.
The prevalence of patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) is increasing owing to an ageing population and increased awareness of these diseases. MDS represent many different conditions, not just a single disease, that are grouped together by several clinical characteristics. A striking feature of MDS is genetic instability, and a large proportion of cases result in acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). We Review three emerging principles of MDS biology: stem-cell dysfunction and the overlap with AML, genetic instability and the deregulation of apoptosis, in the context of inherited bone marrow-failure syndromes, and treatment-related MDS and AML.
Corey
Seth J
SJ
Department of Leukemia, University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Boulevard, Houston, Texas 77030, USA. sjcorey@mdanderson.org
Minden
Mark D
MD
Barber
Dwayne L
DL
Kantarjian
Hagop
H
Wang
Jean C Y
JC
Schimmer
Aaron D
AD
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects; D017209:Apoptosis; D006801:Humans; D009190:Myelodysplastic Syndromes / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology*; D015398:Signal Transduction; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000473:pathology*
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents