Biography
Biography: Michael Keng
Abstract
Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are a heterogeneousgroup of clonal hematopoietic stem cell disorders characterized by cytopenias as a result of ineffective hematopoiesis and a propensity to progress to acute myeloid leukemia and premature mortality in many patients. MDS, especially lower-risk MDS, can be diagnostically challenging with substantial morphologic overlap with nutritional deficiencies, toxic injury, infections, and some inherited disorders. Recent studies have identified novel genetic changes, which help to provide a better understanding of the underlying pathobiology of MDS. This session will review how to distinguish lower-risk from higher-risk MDS, goals of therapy, and standard, non-transplant treatment approaches. The session will then build on these basics to highlight mechanistic-based approaches justifying novel monotherapies and combinations of drugs to treat lower-risk and higher-risk disease.