The IPSS scoring system can help triage patients for more aggressive treatment (i.e. bone marrow transplant) as well as help determine the best timing of this therapy. Supportive care with blood products and hematopoietic growth factors (e.g. erythropoietin) is the mainstay of therapy. The regulatory environment for the use of erythropoietins is evolving, according to a recent US Medicare National coverage determination. However, no comment on the use of hematopoietic growth factors for MDS was made in that document.Agents have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of MDS:

5-azacytidine: 21-month median survival
Decitabine: Complete response rate reported as high as 43%. A phase I study has shown efficacy in AML when decitabine is combined with valproic acid. Lenalidomide: Effective in reducing red blood cell transfusion requirement in patients with the chromosome 5q deletion subtype of MDS
Decitabine/cedazuridine (Inqovi) is a fixed-dosed combination medication for the treatment of adults with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML).Chemotherapy with the hypomethylating agents 5-azacytidine and decitabine has been shown to decrease blood transfusion requirements and to retard the progression of MDS to AML. Lenalidomide was approved by the FDA in December 2005 only for use in the 5q- syndrome. In the United States, treatment of MDS with lenalidomide costs about $9,200 per month. The chemotherapy may be supported by other drugs like all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA), however the evidence of benefit is not clear.HLA-matched allogeneic stem cell transplantation, particularly in younger (i.e.
Cause
Some people have a history of exposure to chemotherapy (especially alkylating agents such as melphalan, cyclophosphamide, busulfan, and chlorambucil) or radiation (therapeutic or accidental), or both (e.g., at the time of stem cell transplantation for another disease). Workers in some industries with heavy exposure to hydrocarbons such as the petroleum industry have a slightly higher risk of contracting the disease than the general population. Xylene and benzene exposures have been associated with myelodysplasia. Vietnam veterans exposed to Agent Orange are at risk of developing MDS. A link may exist between the development of MDS "in atomic-bomb survivors 40 to 60 years after radiation exposure" (in this case, referring to people who were in close proximity to the dropping of the atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II). Children with Down syndrome are susceptible to MDS, and a family history may indicate a hereditary form of sideroblastic anemia or Fanconi anemia. Pathophysiology
MDS most often develops without an identifiable cause. Risk factors include exposure to an agent known to cause DNA damage, such as radiation, benzene, and certain chemotherapies; other risk factors have been inconsistently reported. Proving a connection between a suspected exposure and the development of MDS can be difficult, but the presence of genetic abnormalities may provide some supportive information. Secondary MDS can occur as a late toxicity of cancer therapy (therapy associated MDS, t-MDS).