Treatment of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS)

Valeria Santini, MD from University of Florence, Florence, Italy discusses the treatment of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). In Europe azacitidine is prescribed and is proving to be effective in prolonging survival, despite the fact that 50% of MDS patients do not respond to the drug. However these patients who show positive results with azacitidine lose this response after 6-26 months. Prac****ioners are now facing the issue of attending to patients who again need treatment, and consequently need to delay the progression to acute leukemia. New agents are being added to azacitidine in the hopes of increasing the duration of its efficacy, however results have not shown be positive. Dr Santini discusses an alternative option - catering treatment to the characteristics of the patient. For instance patients with IDH2 mutations can exclusively be treated with AG-221. Recorded at the European Hematology Association (EHA) 2016 Annual Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark.