Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are a group of clonal hematopoietic stem cell disorders in which damaged stem cells produce dysplastic, immature blood cell precursors (blasts) that fail to mature, progressively displacing normal hematopoiesis in the bone marrow and resulting in peripheral cytopenias (anemia, leukopenia, thrombocytopenia). The disorder exists on a spectrum of risk, with a defined subset (marrow blasts exceeding 20%) representing transformation to acute myeloid leukemia (AML), and risk stratification — via clinical/laboratory scoring systems incorporating blood counts, blast percentage, and cytogenetic abnormalities — determines whether treatment is directed at correcting cytopenias (lower-risk disease) or preventing leukemic transformation (higher-risk disease), situating MDS within the hematology/oncology framework of clonal bone marrow failure syndromes.
Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are a group of clonal hematopoietic stem cell disorders in which damaged stem cells produce dysplastic, immature blood cell precursors (blasts) that fail to mature, pr…