Identification of two independent clones underlying the co-existence of myelodysplastic syndrome with excess of blasts type 2 and isolated 5q- and smoldering multiple myeloma

Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS) are an heterogeneous group of malignancies characterized by cytogenetic deletions. Among them an interstitial deletion on the long arm of chromosome 5 (5q-) is the most frequent chromosomal abnormality, alone or in combination with other chromosomal aberrations. When isolated, a 5q- chromosome identifies a specific MDS subtype and it is associated with good prognosis, low/int-1 IPSS (Low Risk MDS, LR-MDS). Isolated 5q- instead is seldom found in int-2/high IPSS MDS (High Risk MDS, HR-MDS) and in Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.