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Myelodysplastic/Myeloproliferative Diseases
Understanding Myelodysplastic/Myeloproliferative Diseases
Myelodysplastic/Myeloproliferative Diseases (MDS/MPD) are a category of rare diseases of the blood and bone marrow.
These diseases are clonal myeloid disorders(i.e where the bone marrow includes a population of cells ultimately derived from a single abnormal cell) which have both dysplastic and proliferative features1,2.
In a myelodysplastic disease, the stem cells do not become mature blood cells or platelets, instead remaining in the immature or blast phase. These blasts die prematurely resulting in a decrease in the number of healthy blood cells and platelets in the patient's blood.
In myeloproliferative diseases, an unusually large number of stem cells mature into blood cells or platelets. This means that the total number of blood cells gradually increases.
The three most important MDS/MPD diseases are:3
- Chronic myelomonocytic leukaemia (CMML)
- Atypical chronic myeloid leukaemia (aCML)
- Juvenile myelomonocytic leukaemia (JMML)
Each of these disorders is very rare but can be life-threatening.
The fourth group constitutes unclassifiable MDS/MPD disorders.3
These documents present research conducted to evaluate the use of imatinib to treat certain types of Myelodysplastic/Myeloproliferative Diseases.
References :
1. National Cancer Institute. Myelodysplastic/Myeloproliferative Diseases (PDQ®): Treatment. Health Professional Version. Available at: http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment /mds-mpd/healthprofessional/allpages. Accessed February 3, 2009.
2. Swansbury J. The Myeloid Disorders: Background. Available at http://www.springerprotocols.com. Accessed February 3, 2009.
3. Vardiman JW, Harris NL, Brunning RD. The World Health Organization (WHO) classification of the myeloid neoplasms. Blood. 2002;100:2292-2302.
