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Query: UMLS:C0026986 (myelodysplastic syndrome)
 14,926 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The classification of acute leukemia has almost invariably been based on the morphologic diagnosis into two broad categories: acute lymphocytic and acute myeloid leukemia. Despite the wide range of morphologic variation in both groups, strict criteria to define the subgroups have only recently been proposed. The conventional markers for B and T cells are now being applied to leukemic cells as are cytochemistry and electron microscopy, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase, serum lysozyme, and surface markers, E-rosettes, membrane immunoglobulin, antinull acute lymphocytic leukemia antiserum, and Fc and C3 receptors. The myelodysplastic syndromes may mimic acute leukemia and it is important that they be identified and treated appropriately. The high incidence with which chronic myelomonocytic leukemia terminates in acute leukemia suggests that it is a preleukemic condition, whereas refractory anemia with excess blasts and acquired idiopathic sideroblastic anemia may have long, drawn-out courses. Only a small population of patients with the latter conditions develop acute leukemia.
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PMID:Classification of acute leukemia. 33 70

In a retrospective analysis we assessed the data of 46 patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), who had received more than 50 blood transfusions during the course of disease. The number of units given ranged from 50 to 155 (mean 79). 20 patients (RA n = 4, RARS n = 12, RAEB n = 1, RAEB/T n = 2, CMML n = 1), followed up between 8 and 108 months (mean survival time 39.4 months), developed a secondary hemochromatosis. More than 40% of the patients showed signs of heart failure, in some cases accompanied by cardiac arrhythmias. 11 patients also suffered from hepatopathy and 5 developed diabetes mellitus. Secondary hemochromatosis was particularly common in patients with RARS. Refractory congestive heart failure secondary to hemochromatosis was the cause of death in 14 patients, whereas none died from hepatic insufficiency. We conclude that the risk of secondary hemochromatosis should not be neglected in polytransfused patients with MDS. In some cases, particularly those with favorable prognostic features of MDS, it may shorten life expectancy. The availability of a new oral iron chelator (1,2-dimethyl-3-hydroxypyrid-4-one or L1) offers a promising and practicable approach to prevent this complication.
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PMID:[Secondary hemochromatosis in polytransfused patients with myelodysplastic syndromes]. 128 62

Four patients with refractory anaemia with excess blasts in transformation (RAEB-t) and seven patients with acute leukaemia (AL) transformed from myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) were treated with etoposide (50 mg, 2 h infusion, two to seven times per week) for at least 4 weeks. Of 10 assessable patients, three RAEB-t patients achieved partial response and one AL patient achieved complete remission. Three of the four responders were resistant to prior repeated low-dose cytarabine therapy. The responders did not require transfusions for 2-9 months while continuing on etoposide therapy. The side-effects were mild and well tolerated. Three possible mechanisms, i.e. a cytotoxic effect, differentiation-induction of malignant cells, and prolongation of blood cell survival by destroying the reticuloendothelial system, may explain the effects of etoposide. We conclude that low-dose etoposide is a potential therapy for MDS and atypical leukaemia.
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PMID:Low-dose etoposide: a potential therapy for myelodysplastic syndromes. 141 18

One hundred and forty one patients were treated in a combined Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group and Southwest Oncology Group phase-III study evaluating low-dose cytarabine (LDAC) versus supportive therapy for the treatment of myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). Patients were randomized to either cytarabine 10 mg/m2 subcutaneously BID or supportive therapy. Central pathology review was required. All patients were classified according to the FAB criteria for MDS. The overall concordance rate for the MDS subtype was 52%, and 25 patients were pathology exclusions, including 20 with AML. The overall response rate to a single cycle of LDAC was 32%, with 11% complete and 21% partial responses. The median duration of response was 5.9 months, with a range of 1.4-33.5 months. Responses were seen in all subtypes. Infections were more common in the LDAC arm. There was no difference in the time to progression or the overall survival for patients treated with LDAC or supportive therapy. The incidence of leukemic transformation was similar in both arms at 15%, but it differed according to the MDS subtype. Patients receiving LDAC had a decreased transfusion requirement after 3 months. There was a significant correlation between the degree of cytoreduction after receiving a single cycle of LDAC and survival. This survival difference was most marked in patients with the RAEB and RAEB-T subtypes. Although LDAC produced responses in all subtypes of the MDS, there was no effect on overall survival or transformation to AML. However, selected patients benefited from a single cycle of LDAC with durable responses. A cytoreductive effect appears to be required for a durable response. Future studies should include pathology review and must address the clinical and biological heterogeneity of MDS.
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PMID:The evaluation of low-dose cytarabine in the treatment of myelodysplastic syndromes: a phase-III intergroup study. 142 May 4

In a phase II study, 21 patients with MDS (RAEB, RAEBt, CMML and RA and RAS with severe cytopenia) were randomized to be treated with 3 courses of GM-CSF (3 micrograms/kg/day s.c.) alone (11 patients) or in combination with AraC (20 mg/m2/d s.c.) (10 patients) for 14-d periods, interrupted by 14-d rest periods. Eight patients discontinued the treatment. In the GM-CSF group a marked increase in WBC and neutrophil counts during each course of treatment administration were seen in most patients. Platelet counts decreased in 14 of 24 courses of treatment in the GM-CSF plus AraC group but in none of the GM-CSF group. Although the changes in the circulating blood cells were transient and the counts tended to return to the pretreatment levels during the rest periods, some more durable effects were seen. In 3/6 patients of the GM-CSF group who completed the designed treatment, both WBC and neutrophils remained elevated above the pretreatment levels throughout the 3-month period of treatment, while in one of them thrombocytopenia improved considerably. In the GM-CSF plus AraC group, 4 out of the 7 patients who completed the treatment showed an improvement of neutropenia as well as anaemia. In these 4 patients the BM percentage of blasts was also decreased. In conclusion, the results of this study indicate that GM-CSF given intermittently improves leukopenia in some patients with MDS. In addition, the administration of GM-CSF seems to prevent granulocytopenia of concurrent AraC treatment and may be of benefit in the treatment of these diseases.
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PMID:Treatment of myelodysplastic syndromes with human granulocytic-macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) or GM-CSF combined with low-dose cytosine arabinoside. 144 28

In order to investigate, whether heme would induce a response in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), 14 symptomatic patients (4 RA, 3 RARS and 7 RAEB) were treated with infusions of heme arginate 3 mg/kg body weight on 4 consecutive days, mostly for six cycles at 2-week intervals. Three of 14 patients (21%) showed an improvement in anemia (97-152, 79-120 and 92-114 g/l) within a few weeks, and 1 showed a milder increase in hemoglobin level (102-118 g/l). Of the 2 responders with marked thrombocytopenia, 1 showed an improvement in the platelet count (7-37 x 10(9)/l) and her regular need for red cell and platelet transfusions ceased. Some regression in bone marrow (BM) cytology was seen in all 3 responders. One of the responders is still in remission 41 months after cessation of the treatment, while in the other 2 the response lasted for 26 and 5 months. Four patients progressed during the treatment: 1 RA to RAEB, 1 RAEB to RAEBt and 2 RAEB, both with very complex chromosomal abnormalities at the beginning of the therapy, to acute erythroleukemia (AML-M6). Pretreatment delta-aminolevulinic acid synthase and heme synthase activities were generally low. Five patients had mild thrombophlebitis, but not after the infusion procedure was changed. No other side-effects common to growth factors occurred. In conclusion, it is likely that heme arginate has a therapeutic effect on some MDS patients, obviously by stimulating erythropoiesis. The response may be long-lasting.
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PMID:Therapeutic effect of heme arginate in myelodysplastic syndromes. 834 47

The proliferation characteristics of leukemic cells may be a determining factor in disease course and response to therapy. The present study compares the rate of cell-cycle progression in the bone marrow of 16 hematologically normal subjects, 19 patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), and 23 patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). The frequency of sister chromatid exchanges (SCE) in bone marrow cells is also compared. MDS and AML patients showed a reduction in the rate of cell-cycle progression compared with normal subjects. Patients with 'high risk' MDS (RAEB/RAEB-t) did not differ significantly from patients with AML but had a significantly slower rate of cell-cycle progression than patients with 'low-risk' MDS (PASA/RA). There was no correlation between the rate of cell-cycle progression and clonal karyotype status or the percentage of blast cells in either MDS or AML. There were no significant differences in SCE frequency between normal subjects and MDS or AML patients.
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PMID:Cell-cycle progression rates and sister chromatid exchange frequencies in the bone marrow of patients with myelodysplastic syndrome and acute myeloid leukemia. 152 Dec 37

A 9-year-old boy was admitted with the diagnosis of myelodysplastic syndrome (FAB RAEB in T). The patient was treated with busulfan and cyclophosphamide and transplanted with bone marrow cells from an HLA identical sister. Cyclosporin A (CyA) and short term methotrexate (MTX) was given for prophylaxis against graft versus host disease (GvHD). The serum potassium value was observed to increase to 6.3 mEq/l during the period of CyA therapy. The serum potassium value returned to 4 mEq/l when CyA treatment was decreased to a serum concentration of less than 50 ng/ml (FPIA). On day 90 post transplantation the patient was diagnosed as relapsed. The patient was preconditioned with cyclophosphamide and total body irradiation and a second bone marrow transplantation was performed using cells from the same donor. He was treated again with CyA and short term MTX for the prevention of GvHD. Once again the patient became hyperkalemic with 6.8 mEq/l. The serum creatinine level was 0.9 mg/dl, the GFR was 52.1 ml/min, FEK was 7.1%. Pseudohypoaldosteronism or hyporeninemic hypoaldosteronism was suspected. To investigate this possibility a renin/aldosterone stimulation test was performed. We speculate that an idiosyncratic response to CyA resulted in pseudohypoaldosteronism and produced a defect in potassium secretion.
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PMID:[Hyperkalemia in a cyclosporine A-treated allogeneic bone marrow transplant recipient]. 154 16

Twenty patients with myelodysplastic syndromes were treated with daily subcutaneous injections of interferon alpha 2a, at the initial dose of 3 x 10(6) U/m2. Hemogram, chemistry profile, natural killer (NK) cell activity and lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cell cytotoxicity were monitored serially. Bone marrow with cytogenetic analysis was done before therapy and every three months afterwards. Normalization to the complete blood count, and wherever applicable, decrease in blast count of 5% or less were defined as a complete response. Improvement in hemoglobin level to 12 g/dl, neutrophil count to 1000/mm3 and platelets to 100,000/mm3 was considered a partial response. The median age was 71 (range 59-83) years and 16 of the patients were males. Two patients withdrew from the treatment in the first week and were considered ineligible. Among the other 18, two had refractory anemia, two refractory anemia with ringed sideroblasts, four chronic myelomonocytic leukemia, eight refractory anemia with excess blasts, and two refractory anemia with excess blasts in transformation to acute leukemia. Twelve patients were treated for six months, the other six were taken off the treatment after six to eight weeks because of disease progression. Only one patient with chronic myelomonocytic leukemia had a partial response for two months. NK cell activity remained unchanged before (18.3 +/- 4.6 lytic units) and during interferon therapy (19.6 +/- 5.3 lytic units). LAK cytotoxicity was not detected in any patient before therapy and was seen in only one patient (not the responder) during therapy (5.7 lytic units). The toxicity of the interferon therapy was substantial. Seventeen patients required a dose reduction and fifteen lost greater than 10% of body weight. Eleven patients (61%) developed infections requiring antibiotic therapy, and eight (44%) required hospitalization. Seven patients developed neurologic toxicity. Interferon alpha 2a is an ineffective but toxic therapy in these elderly patients with myelodysplastic syndromes.
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PMID:Phase II trial of recombinant human interferon alpha in myelodysplastic syndromes. 156 60

To assess the effects of GM-CSF in patients with myelodysplasia, a total of 101 patients with refractory anemia (RA), RA with ringed sideroblasts (RARS), and RA with an excess of blasts provided that the percentage of blasts in the bone marrow did not exceed 10% (RAEB) were enrolled in the EORTC Leukemia Cooperative Group study 06885. They were randomized to receive two daily subcutaneous injections of rhGM-CSF (mammalian, glycosylated, Sandoz/Schering-Plough) at a daily dose of either 108 micrograms glycoprotein (group I) or 216 micrograms glycoprotein (group II) for 8 weeks. Response was defined as an increase in Hb (greater than 2.5 g%), neutrophil count (more than 100%), or platelet count (more than 100%) without progression of the disease. After exclusion of 19 patients who did not meet the entry criteria, 82 were evaluated. Fifty-four patients (66%) responded (27 of 42 patients in group I and 27 of 40 in group II). Progressive disease was seen in two patients of group I and in four of group II. Two of the latter developed leukemia. All responses were reflected in the granulocytic series. In two patients platelet numbers also increased. Cytogenetic analysis, successfully performed in 43 cases, showed that 14 of 16 patients with normal karyotypes responded, compared with 14 of 27 patients with abnormal karyotypes (p = 0.008). In some cases GM-CSF was reduced in dose or discontinued prematurely due to side effects so that only 35% of all evaluable patients finished 8 weeks of treatment without a change of dose.
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PMID:A randomized phase-I/II multicenter study of recombinant human granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) therapy for patients with myelodysplastic syndromes and a relatively low risk of acute leukemia. EORTC Leukemia Cooperative Group. 158 5


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