MDS Professional Report MDS Foundation

Drs Nikolaos Papadantonakis of Emory, Atlanta, US, and Moshe Mittelman, Tel-Aviv, Israel, discuss trials presented in American Society of Hematology (ASH) 2023 meeting. They provide some data on luspatercept, imetelstat, roxodustat and Ker-050.  

Prof. Rena Buckstein from Toronto, and Prof. Moshe Mittelman from Tel-Aviv discuss issues related to RBC transfusions, the hemoglobin threshold for transfusion and related quality of life issues.

Prof. Akiko Shimamura of Harvard Medical School, Boston, a world known expert of pediatric hematology discusses with Prof. Guillermo Sanz ,of Valencia and Prof. Moshe Mittelman, of Tel Aviv, the various aspects of bone marrow failure including childhood MDS, the differences of this medical problem between adults and children, the unique approach to sick kids and the increasing number of promising therapeutic options.

Drs. Rafael Bejar (San Diego) and Moshe Mittelman (Tel Aviv) discuss several papers highlighting the role of genetics in MDS diagnosis, follow up and prediction of treatment. They also discuss the role of the newly approved luspatercept in the treatment of anemic transfusion-dependent patients with lower-risk MDS

Drs. Moshe Mittelman, of The Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, and Drorit
Merkel, of the Sheba Medical Center, both from Tel Aviv University, Israel,
discuss several important presentations from the recent 2021 ASH meeting.
They focus on the new IPSS-M classification, discuss the approach to the
MDS patient who is currently defined by IPSS/R as belonging to the /lower-
risk group but in fact the disease behaves like a higher-risk. Finally, they
discuss issues regarding the treatment of patients with HR-MDS: What can be
added to hypomethylating agents ? Targeted therapy with IDH1/2 inhibition
and more…

Chien Aza – Pembro - BJH
The combination of azacitidine and pembrolizumab may be a potential effective regimen for patients with higher-risk MDS and may lead to the introduction of an important class of medications into MDS practice

Nazha, Prog model – JCO
A personalized prediction model, based on clinical and genomic data, outperformed established prognostic models in MDS. The use of digital tools allow us to manage big data taken from large numbers of patients and include them in the newly developed diagnostic and prognostic models.


Keundgen , t-MDS- Leukemia
Therapy-related MDS should be classified as a separate entity distinct from other WHO-classified t-myeloid neoplasms, which would enhance treatment decisions and facilitate the inclusion of t-MDS patients into clinical studies.


Strapatsas, PLT, Ann Hem

The authors re-confirm the importance of PLT count as a prognostic factor in MDS, both at presentation and during the disease course. Bleeding is a leading (3rd ) cause of death in these patients.