Hematologic and cytogenetic analyses of 99 cases of de novo myelodysplastic syndromes.

BACKGROUND. The myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are a heterogeneous group of clonal hematopoietic stem cell disorders characterized by peripheral pancytopenia, abnormal bone marrow differentiation and a high risk of leukemic transformation. The role of karyotypic abnormalities in the pathogenesis of MDS is still unclear. In this paper we present the hematologic and cytogenetic findings in 99 patients with de novo MDS. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS. Fifty-three cases had chromosomal abnormalities nor complex karyotypes were associated with the morphologic subsets described by the FAB criteria. Nevertheless, the karyotypic profile is prognostically important, as indicated by the fact that patients with complex karyotype abnormalities have very short survival.