• Refractory Anaemia / Pre-leukemia.
• Chronic progression, one or more cell lines involved. RBC*

Definition

• Collection of myeloid malignancies characterized by one or more peripheral blood cytopenias (thrombocytopaenia, erythrocytopaenia, leukocytopenia)
• Malfunctioning pluripotent stem cells lead to hypercellularity and dysplasia of the bone marrow
• Includes chronic myelomonocytic leukaemia (CMML), juvenile myelomonocytic leukaemia (JMML), atypical chronic myeloid leukaemia (aCML) and myelodysplastic/myeloproliferative neoplasms unclassifiable (MDS/MPN)
• Can be classified as primary (de novo) or secondary to aggressive treatment of other cancers, with exposure to radiation, alkylating agents, or topoisomerase II inhibitors

Demographics:

• Most > 60 years but can affect children and young adults
• Men
• White individuals

Aetiology: Exact causes are unknown – approximately 90% of MDS cases occur de novo with no identifiable cause

potential Risk Factors:

• Tobacco smoke.
• Ionizing radiation.