Myelodysplastic syndromes classification and risk stratification.

Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are spectrum of bone marrow failure disorders that share a common pathologic feature: cytologic dysplasia. The classification of MDS reflects the understanding of the disease. It is hoped that in the future classification and risk stratification will be based on underlying pathobiology of different disease subsets and molecular signatures where the pathologic classification represents their phenotype. This article reviews MDS classification and risk stratification highlighting differences between the various systems.