This book reviews the standard diagnostic and therapeutic management of patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and examines ongoing research developments in the field. The importance of appropriate prognostic stratification, taking into account recent advances in understanding of the molecular pathogenesis of MDS, is explained, and both established and novel treatment approaches are discussed in depth. The coverage includes, for example, the use of erythropoietic stimulating agents, iron chelation therapy, the immunomodulator lenalidomide, hypomethylating agents such as azacitidine, and allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

Myelodysplastic syndromes are heterogeneous and complex hematologic disorders ranging from indolent conditions to forms approaching the aggressiveness of acute myeloid leukemia. The diversity of MDS gives rise to challenges in diagnosis and clinical decision making, and the highly variable clinical course necessitates a risk-adapted treatment strategy and the application of disease-specific therapies. Hematologists, oncologists, and other interested clinicians will find this book to be an invaluable source of information on diagnostic and prognostic evaluation and treatment selection.

Uwe Platzbecker graduated from medical school in 1996 and then trained in heart surgery. Since 1998 he has worked in the Department of Hematology and Oncology at the University Hospital "Carl Gustav Carus" in Dresden, Germany. Between 2001 and 2003 he completed a 2-year postdoctoral fellowship provided by the Humboldt Foundation at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, USA. Since 2012, he has held the position of Professor of Hematology at the University Hospital "Carl Gustav Carus" and is head of the MDS program there. Professor Platzbecker`s clinical expertise lies in hematological malignancies with a focus on MDS and AML. His main scientific interest is innovative treatment options for these patients involving the use of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. He is the author of numerous papers, book chapters, and abstracts. Professor Platzbecker is also co-chair of the EHA MDS working group. In 2012 he was appointed by the ELN MDS group as one of the coordinators of the European MDS Study Coordinating Office (EMSCO).

Pierre Fenaux trained at the University Hospital of Lille, France, where he became Professor in Hematology in 1993. Between 2002 and 2013 he founded and was head of the clinical hematology section at Hôpital Avicenne, Paris 13 University. He then moved to Hôpital St Louis, Paris 7 University to create a new clinical hematology section for myeloid disorders in the elderly, which he currently chairs. He is involved in clinical and laboratory research in the field of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and acute myeloid leukemia (especially promyelocytic leukemia). He is a founding member and chairman of the French-speaking MDS group (Groupe Francophone des Myélodysplasies) and of the French APL group (GT-LAP). He is also a member of the board of directors of the MDS Foundation. He is the author of numerous scientific articles in peer-reviewed journals.