From the Department of Leukemia, University of Texas, M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Author's disclosure of potential conflicts of interest are found at the end of this article.
This study was supported in part by grant 5PO1CA108631 and by a grant from the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of America.
Address reprint requests to Guillermo Garcia-Manero, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine, Chief, Section of Myelodysplastic Syndromes, Department of Leukemia, University of Texas, M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030; e-mail: ggarciam{at}mdanderson.org
Overview: During the last 5 years, we have witnessed an explosion in our understanding, the classification, and the number of therapeutic alternatives for patients with myelodysplastic syndromes. These include the development of new classifications, scoring systems, supportive care measures, and most importantly, effective treatments beyond allogeneic stem cell transplantation that can modify the natural history of this complex group of hematopoietic disorders. In this review, treatment alternatives for patients with myelodysplastic syndromes are summarized, from a standard-of-care community perspective, and urgent areas are emphasized where clinical research is needed.