Myelodysplasia (or MDS) is a clonal blood-related malignancy, which does not respond to treatment very well. The disease is presented with cytopenia of all three types of blood cells (red, white, and platelets).

During diagnosis of MDS, the bone marrow must have blood cells with abnormal appearances, blasts or immature cells, and chromosomal abnormalities.

The rate of occurrence for MDS increases with age. It occurs in roughly 5 per 100,000 people below the age of 70 and in 30 per 100,000 over the age of 70.

A person may be suffering from MDS when he or she has the symptoms of bleeding, paleness, infections and extreme fatigue.

Progressive cytopenias or acute myeloid leukemia (AML) may develop in patients living with MDS. This may occur whether they receive treatment or not and medical reports say that about one third of all MDS patients develop what is commonly known as secondary AML.

There are four categories of risk for MDS patients. Their survival chances are affected by the percentage of bone marrow blasts, cytopenias numbers and the cytogenetice abnormalities that are present. These 4 categories are based on median years of survival. Low risk is a median survival of 5.7 years. Median survival of 3.5 years and 1.1 years are both considered intermediate risk. High risk has a median survival rate of less than 6 months.

*Median survival of 5.7 years is considered low-risk

*Median survival of 3.5 years is an intermediate risk category

*A second intermediate risk category has a median survival of 1.1 years

*When the median survival is less than 6 months the risk is considered high.

There are both genetic and environmental factors that can cause MDS. Prolonged exposure to benzene, a known carcinogen, is a factor in the development of MDS. Benzene is used in the manufacturing of such commercial goods as sodas, cigarettes, gasoline and many more. People exposed to benzene though handling, inhaling or ingesting it are usually unaware the the harm it can do.