Dr. Kambhampati Discusses the Current Landscape of MDS

Suman Kambhampati, MD, co-medical director, Blood Cancer Program, Sarah Cannon Research Institute, discusses the current landscape of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS).

Kambhampati says that the 2 main features in MDS are low blood counts and the risk of transforming into acute leukemia. Physicians primarily deal with anemia, thrombocytopenia, low platelets, and risk for infections due to low neutrophil counts. MDS is currently categorized into low- and high-risk patients.

Low-risk MDS is characterized by low blood counts, and the focus in treating these patients is improving blood counts by giving growth factors to stimulate blood production, says Kambhampati. There is also focus being put on clinical trials, and a lot of research is being done to overcome barriers in blood production in patients who fail growth factor therapy.

High-risk MDS is an area of challenge, says Kambhampati. Not many advancements have been made, but there are some promising agents, such as venetoclax (Venclexta) and IDH2 inhibitors. Kambhampati adds that there will be more emphasis put on mutational profiling and targeted therapies in MDS in the future.