MDS treatment is designed to increase the number of healthy cells in your blood (blood count). When your blood counts go up you are less likely to need blood from a donor (transfusion), your quality of life becomes better and your symptoms are not as bad.
Your doctor will look at several issues to find the best treatment plan for you. These include your symptoms, your age, the subtype of MDS you have, your disease risk score, and other conditions or diseases you may have. He may also consider whether someone is willing and able to donate matching bone marrow bone marrow: The soft, spongy tissue inside most bones. Blood cells are formed in the bone marrow. to you (preferably a family member).
There are a number of general approaches used to treat MDS depending on the subtype and severity of your MDS. These may include:
- Wait and watch: Also called “watchful waiting,” your doctor might decide to do nothing but monitor you if your blood counts aren't too low and your symptoms aren't too bad.
- Supportive care Supportive care: Care given to improve the quality of life, or comfort, of a person with a chronic illness. Supportive care treats the symptoms rather than the underlying cause of a disease. The goal is to help the patient feel better. Patients with low blood counts may be given blood transfusions as supportive… : These therapies help you manage your MDS symptoms. They work to increase blood counts, treat infections and treat iron overload iron overload: A condition that occurs when too much iron accumulates in the body. Bone marrow failure disease patients who need regular red blood cell transfusions are at risk for iron overload. Organ damage can occur if iron overload is not treated. and typically include blood transfusions blood transfusions: A blood transfusion is a safe and common procedure. Most people who have a bone marrow failure disease like aplastic anemia, MDS or PNH will receive at least one blood transfusion. When you receive a blood transfusion, parts of blood from a donor are put into your bloodstream. This can help some… and antibiotics antibiotics: The most common white blood cells are called neutrophils. They fight infection. Patients who don't have enough healthy neutrophils are said to have neutropenia. Because of their low white count, they may get infections easily and have trouble getting rid of infections. If you have neutropenia,… , and for some patients, may also include growth factors growth factors: Growth factors are naturally occurring hormones in your body that signal your bone marrow to make more of certain types of blood cells. Man-made growth factors may be given to some people with bone marrow failure diseases to help increase red blood cell, white blood cell or platelet counts. Red… or iron chelation iron chelation: Iron chelation therapy is the main treatment used when you have a condition called iron overload. Iron overload means you have too much iron in your body. This can be a problem for people who get lots of red blood cell transfusions. Basics Red blood cells contain iron. Each time you get a… .
- Immunosuppressive therapy Immunosuppressive therapy: Immunosuppressive drug therapy lowers your body's immune response. This prevents your immune system from attacking your bone marrow, allowing bone marrow stem cells to grow, which raises blood counts. For older patients with acquired aplastic anemia, immunosuppressive drug therapy is the… : Consists of medicines to keep the immune system from attacking the bone marrow, which can lower your body's immune response and is appropriate for patients with certain types of MDS. These medicines include ATG (antithymocyte globulin) and cyclosporine cyclosporine: Cyclosporine is used along with antithymocyte globulin (ATG), another immunosuppressant, for treating aplastic anemia and some other forms of bone marrow failure. .
- Drug therapies: Approved specifically to treat MDS, they work to stop abnormal cells from growing and stimulate the growth of healthy bone marrow cells. These therapies include lenalidomide lenalidomide: Lenalidomide is a capsule that is taken by mouth. It is approved for treating low-risk, transfusion-dependent myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) patients with an abnormality of chromosome 5q. It is currently in clinical trials to test its efficacy with a broader range of MDS patients. For some MDS… (Revlimid), decitaibine (Dacogen) and azacitidine azacitidine: It works by reducing the amount of methylation in the body. Methylation is a process that acts like a switch to turn off or “silence” genes in certain cells. When these genes (called tumor suppressor genes) are turned off, MDS cells and cancer cells can grow freely. Azacitidine is approved by the U… (Vidaza).
- Chemotherapy Chemotherapy: (kee-moe-THER-uh-pee) The use of medicines that kill cells (cytotoxic agents). People with high-risk or intermediate-2 risk myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) may be given chemotherapy to kill bone marrow cells that have an abnormal size, shape, or look. Chemotherapy hurts healthy cells along with… : Treats MDS by using drugs that kill abnormal cells.
- Bone marrow/stem cell transplantation (BMT/SCT): A procedure that replaces your unhealthy blood-forming stem cells stem cells: Cells in the body that develop into other cells. There are two main sources of stem cells. Embryonic stem cells come from human embryos and are used in medical research. Adult stem cells in the body repair and maintain the organ or tissue in which they are found. Blood-forming (hemapoietic) stem… with healthy ones from a matched donor. BMT is the only potential cure for MDS. Unfortunately, BMT is an “imperfect cure,” carrying many risks and potential long-term side effects. For many people a BMT is not a good option. When considering BMT, be sure to talk with your doctor about its potential impact on your long-term survival and quality of life when compared with other treatment options.
- Clinical trials Clinical trials: Clinical research is at the heart of all medical advances, identifying new ways to prevent, detect or treat disease. If you have a bone marrow failure disease, you may want to consider taking part in a clinical trial, also called a research study. Understanding Clinical Trials Clinical… , also called research studies, may also be an option for patients who do not have success with the other treatment options.