Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are a group of myeloid clonal disorders caused by a defect in bone marrow, which hinders their ability to produce healthy and normal functioning red blood cells. The heterogeneous nature of MDS means therapeutic approaches need to be specifically tailored to each subtype. Current treatment options for MDS include allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, which is the only curative form of treatment and available to only a small population of patients, whilst for most patients, non-curative treatment such as iron chelation and growth factors, lenalidomide and hypomethylating agents are the only available options. Although progress has been made in understanding the mechanisms which underpin MDS, few novel treatments have been developed. 

In this podcast, Valeria Santini, MD, University of Florence, Florence, Italy; Andrew Wei, MBBS, PhD, Alfred Hospital and Monash University, Melbourne, Australia; and Sangmin Lee, MD, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, discuss the latest research on treatment for MDS, as presented at this year’s Congress of the European Hematology Association (EHA 2021).