The relevance of transfusion-dependency in the prognostic assessment of patients with myeloid neoplasms

Anemia is the most relevant clinical problem for the majority of patients with MDS. More than 90% of MDS patients are anemic at the time of diagnosis, and severe anemia is observed in about 60% of cases. Once anemia is symptomatic, red blood cell (RBC) transfusions are the mainstays of therapy. We found that the onset of a regular transfusion requirement in MDS patients is associated with a worsening of prognosis in multivariable analysis, and hence, transfusion-dependency can be viewed as an independent indicator of the severity of the disease and an independent prognostic factor. The prognostic value of transfusion-dependency was found to be associated with transfusion burden and intensity of transfusion requirement.