The consensus on the diagnosis and treatment of elderly myelodysplastic neoplasm in China (2024)

• Published in: Zhenduanxue lilun yu shijian
• Main Author: MDS Professional Committee of Hematology Branch of Chinese Geriatrics Society
• Format: Article
• Language: Chinese
• Published: Editorial Office of Journal of Diagnostics Concepts & Practice 2024-06-01
• Subjects: |geriatrics|myelodysplastic syndrome|myelodysplastic neoplasm|diagnosis|treatment
• Online Access: https://www.qk.sjtu.edu.cn/jdcp/fileup/1671-2870/PDF/1724233502606-46486499.pdf

Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are a heterogeneous group of myeloid tumours originating from haematopoietic stem/progenitor cells, with a high prevalence in the elderly. Epidemiological surveys in Europe and the United States have revealed that the incidence of MDS is (4-5)/100 000, which increases with age，and the median age at diagnosis of MDS patients reaches 73-76 years. In Shanghai, China, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) 2008 diagnostic criteria, the average incidence rate was 1.51/100 000, and the median age of onset of MDS was found to be 62 years old in a survey conducted in 3.9 million people from 2004 to 2007, of which about one-third of the patients would be transformed into acute myeloid leukemia (AML), and 53% of the patients would die due to infections, haemorrhages, or comorbidities triggered by cytopenias. Elderly MDS patients have their own characteristics in terms of both treatment choices and disease prognosis due to more comorbidities and weaker health. Clinical characteristics of elderly MDS patients include slightly higher white blood cell count, haemoglobin level and more bone marrow blasts than those of young patients, while neutrophil count and platelet count are significantly higher than those of young patients; the number of mutations in elderly MDS patients is higher, with an average of 1.8 mutations per patient, among which the mutations in ASXL1, TET2, SF3B1, STAG2, SRSF2 and TP53 are more common; while the number of mutations in younger patients averages 1.2 per person, among which U2AF1, ASXL1 and RUNX1 mutations are more common. Allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) is the only curative treatment for MDS, and myeloablative transplantation is feasible in young patients, but only reduced-intensity conditioning (RIC) allo-HSCT can be performed in elderly patients.The natural course and prognosis of elderly MDS patients varies considerably, and the MDS Composite Prognostic Score, which is composed of the composite age (>70 years old), vulnerability index, and IPSS prognostic subgroups, is able to better predict the tolerance of chemotherapy and adverse treatment effects in MDS patients. This consensus is based on the latest evidence-based data in the study of MDS in the elderly at home and abroad, and has been discussed by the experts of the group, which aims to standardise the diagnosis and the whole management of treatment for elderly MDS patients in China.