General Information About Myelodysplastic Syndromes Key Points
for This Section - A myelodysplastic syndrome is a disease in
which the bone marrow does not make enough healthy blood cells.
- Age and past treatment with chemotherapy or radiation therapy
affect the risk of a myelodysplastic syndrome. - Possible signs
of a myelodysplastic syndrome include feeling tired and
shortness of breath. - Tests that examine the blood and bone
marrow are used to detect (find) and diagnose myelodysplastic
syndromes. - The different types of myelodysplastic syndromes
are diagnosed based on certain changes in the blood cells and
bone marrow. - Certain factors affect prognosis and treatment
options. A myelodysplastic syndrome is a group of symptoms that
includes cancer of the blood and bone marrow. In a healthy
person, the bone marrow makes blood stem cells (immature cells)
that become mature blood cells over time. A blood stem cell may
become a myeloid stem cell or a lymphoid stem cell. A myeloid
stem cell becomes one of thre