BACKGROUND: It is not known to what extent the WHO classification scheme for MDS has been adopted in clinical practice. METHODS: We reviewed the medical records of 200 newly diagnosed MDS patients enrolled in our national registry during the years 2006-2008 to determine the scheme used. RESULTS: Clear WHO subtypes were recorded for 45.0% of patients, compared to 5.5% for FAB subtypes; 28.0% had MDS documented but without WHO or FAB subtype, and for 22.5%, the schema was unclear. CONCLUSION: Although many MDS patients do not have a subtype or schema documented, when they do, the WHO system is widely used. Copyright 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
BACKGROUND: It is not known to what extent the WHO classification scheme for MDS has been adopted in clinical practice. METHODS: We reviewed the medical records of 200 newly diagnosed MDSpatients enrolled in our national registry during the years 2006-2008 to determine the scheme used. RESULTS: Clear WHO subtypes were recorded for 45.0% of patients, compared to 5.5% for FAB subtypes; 28.0% had MDS documented but without WHO or FAB subtype, and for 22.5%, the schema was unclear. CONCLUSION: Although many MDSpatients do not have a subtype or schema documented, when they do, the WHO system is widely used. Copyright 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.