What is MDS?
What is MDS? Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are an often unrecognized, under-diagnosed rare group of bone marrow failure disorders, where the body no longer makes enough healthy, normal blood cells in the bone marrow. The disease is also known as a form of blood cancer.
What are myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS)?
Myelodysplastic syndromes, or MDS, are a group of disorders in which a person’s bone marrow does not produce enough functioning blood cells. MDS is a type of cancer. MDS damages some of the blood forming cells in the bone marrow, leading to low counts of one or more types of blood cells.
How common is MDS (pre-leukemia)?
MDS is sometimes referred to as “pre-leukemia.” That’s because about one-third of people with MDS will eventually develop acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Your risk of developing MDS depends on many factors, including age. About 86 percent of people are over age 60 at diagnosis.
What is the prognosis for MDS?
What’s the prognosis for MDS? Myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) is a condition that affects the production of blood cells in your bone marrow. MDS is sometimes referred to as “pre-leukemia.” That’s because about one-third of people with MDS will eventually develop acute myeloid leukemia (AML).
What are the symptoms and course of MDS?
The symptoms and course of MDS may vary greatly from person to person and also depend on which blood cells are affected. Most experts agree that MDS is a cancer of the blood and bone marrow. They have a low blood cell count for at least one blood cell type.
What is myelodysplastic syndromes MDS?
Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS) By The Numbers. Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are an often unrecognized, under-diagnosed rare group of bone marrow failure disorders, where the body no longer makes enough healthy, normal blood cells in the bone marrow.
How do you know if you have high-risk MDS?
If fewer than 5 out of 100 white cells in your bone marrow are blasts, you have lower-risk MDS. If between 5 out of 100 and 19 out of 100 white cells in your bone marrow are blasts, you have higher-risk MDS.
What does MDS with multilineage dysplasia mean?
MDS with multilineage dysplasia (MDS-MLD) The person has low numbers of at least 1 type of blood cell. There is a normal number (less than 5%) of very early cells called blasts in the bone marrow, and blasts are rare (or absent) in the blood.
What is the prognosis of MDS?
In about 1 in 3 patients, MDS can progress to a rapidly growing cancer of bone marrow cells called acute myeloid leukemia (AML). In the past, MDS was sometimes referred to as pre-leukemia or smoldering leukemia. Because most patients do not get leukemia, MDS used to be classified as a disease of low malignant potential.