Overview

Stay up to date on the evolving risk classification for myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and current treatment guidelines for patients with high-risk disease in this self-directed education with leading oncology experts. Expert commentary from Courtney DiNardo, MD from MD Anderson Cancer Center and Dr. Dan Pollyea from the University of Colorado School of Medicine provides insights on emerging therapies that could soon improve management of high-risk MDS. Be ready to incorporate these emerging therapies into your treatment plans to best meet the needs of your patients and get the answers you need about MDS classification and risk assessment.

Professions: Physicians, Physician Assistants, Nurses
Specialties: Hematology, Medical Oncology, Pathology

Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS; also known as myelodysplastic neoplasms), a heterogenous group of disorders of the hematopoietic stem cells in the bone marrow, are associated with suboptimal numbers of one or more types of blood cells. Though relatively rare, the incidence of MDS has been steadily increasing as the average age of Americans has increased. The International Prognostic Scoring System-Revised (IPSS-R) has long been the gold-standard for patient risk stratification in MDS; however, a newer system, the IPSS-Molecular (IPSS-M) has been developed and validated to include newly elucidated gene mutations. Because the IPSS-M was introduced in 2022, clinicians on the multidisciplinary MDS team (eg, hematologists/oncologists, pathologists, advanced practice providers, and nurses) may not yet be familiar with its use for differentiating lower-risk from higher-risk patients. In addition, though a novel combination therapy, decitabine and cedazuridine, was approved in 2020 for MDS, there are few treatment options. Additional research and new therapies are still needed to improve outcomes for patients with high-risk MDS as median survival remains less than 2 years. Therefore, it is critical for multidisciplinary clinicians to familiarize themselves with newer pharmacologic targets for MDS, such as cluster of differentiation 47 (CD47). CD47 is a promising target as its overexpression has been associated with immune surveillance evasion. Clinicians also need to stay current with the latest data and clinical trials for a range of novel therapies in late-stage development for high-risk MDS. Considering the recent changes to MDS risk assessment, coupled with a multitude of promising emerging therapeutic options, it is critical that the multidisciplinary team understand these developments to ensure their implementation in practice to improve the management of patients with high-risk MDS.

Upon completion of this activity, participants will be able to:
• Apply updated classification guidelines in the evaluation of patients with MDS.
• Outline the role of immune surveillance and CD47 in the development of MDS.
• Discuss unmet patient needs in the treatment of HR-MDS.
• Describe the MOA of emerging therapies.

Provided by The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and the Academy for Continued Healthcare Learning (ACHL).

The organizing committee wishes to express appreciation to the following company for their commitment to continuing medical education by providing an educational grant in support of this educational activity: