MDS Treatments
Our Cancer Center doctors plan your treatment using recently
developed National Practice Guidelines. These guidelines are based on
advances we have made in evaluating the prognosis of MDS patients.
Different treatments are available based on your specific subtype of
MDS and any related problems.
MDS treatment options include:
-
Chemotherapy: The use of anticancer drugs to shrink or kill
cancerous cells and reduce cancer spreading to other parts of the
body. Learn more about chemotherapy.
-
Drug therapy, such as antibiotics
-
Stem cell transplant: We replace the blood-forming cells that
were destroyed by cancer treatment. This helps the bone marrow
recover and continue to make healthy blood cells. Learn more about
stem
cell transplant.
-
Supportive care: This refers to care we provide that helps
relieve pain or discomfort caused by the disease or its treatment.
Supportive care may include transfusions and antibiotics.
-
Transfusion therapy: We give you red blood cells, white blood
cells or platelets to replace blood cells destroyed by disease or
cancer treatment. The blood may be donated from another person, or
we may take it from you before treatment and stored it until
needed.
-
Watchful waiting: Watchful waiting is closely monitoring a
patient's condition without giving any treatment until symptoms
appear or change.
Clinical Trials for MDS
In addition to providing supportive care, clinical trials offer
treatment options with new medications.
Talk to your doctor about enrolling in one of our clinical trials
testing low-intensity therapy, high-intensity therapy, and new
medications for MDS:
- Eltrombopag (platelet stimulating drug)
- Rigosertib
- Anti-Ephrin receptor-3 antibody (KB-004)
- 5-Azacytidine plus lenalidomide
Low-intensity therapy
Low-intensity therapy usually does not require a hospital stay. You
will most likely experience fewer side effects. Low-intensity therapy
includes medications such as:
- Erythropoietin or G-CSF plus erythropoietin
- 5
azacytidine
- Decitabine
- Lenalidomide
- Deferasirox (iron chelating agent)
High-intensity therapy
High-intensity therapy usually requires a hospital stay. You may
experience side effects from the treatments. Our team will work with
you to minimize any pain or discomfort you experience.
- Bone marrow transplantation: standard and reduced intensity
conditioning
- Intensive chemotherapy