Data Presented at the International Symposium on Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS) Provide New Insights into Novel Treatment and Supportive Care Options for Patients

Data Presented at the International Symposium on Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS) Provide New Insights into Novel Treatment and Supportive Care Options for Patients

May 18, 2007

    CROSSWICKS, N.J., May 18 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- The
Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS) Foundation announced today
key highlights from the 9th International Symposium on MDS
which include data on novel, oral therapies, such as
lenalidomide, which are offering new treatment options for
patients, as well as updates on supportive care options
that help patients maintain better quality of life.  The
Symposium is currently taking place in Florence, Italy
where the meeting's International Scientific Committee,
which includes 75 key researchers from 14 countries around
the world, are presenting and discussing the latest data
advances in understanding and treating MDS.
  
    New Oral Therapy Provides Survival Benefit and Prevents
Disease Progress in Patients

    At this year's Symposium, Dr. Alan List, of the H. Lee
Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute in Tampa,
FL, presented data which showed that patients with MDS
associated with chromosome 5 deletion who received
lenalidomide were able to remain transfusion free for an
average of 2.2 years and, after four years, patients were
still responding to treatment.  Additionally, among
patients who showed a cytogenic response to the
lenalidomide treatment, 87 percent had a ten year survival
estimate compared to only four percent of non-cytogenic
responders.  

    Dr. Aristoteles Giagounidis, of
Heinrich-Heine-Universitat, Dusseldorf, Germany, also
presented data on lenalidomide which showed that the
treatment can also prevent disease progression in patients
with the chromosome 5 deletion as well.  Patients receiving
lenalidomide also had a statistically significant overall
survival advantage. 

    "It is very exciting to see new data on oral
therapies, like lenalidomide, which are advancing the
treatment of MDS and providing options for patients besides
existing supportive care and repeated blood
transfusions," said Kathy Heptinstall, Operation
Director of the Myelodysplastic Syndromes Foundation. 
"The data are showing that patients who receive
lenalidomide are able to live transfusion free for several
years with a much improved quality of life and that the
drug can also provide a long-term survival advantage and
prevent disease progression in some patients."

    Supportive Care Options Help Maintain Quality of Life 

    Additionally, new data on the value of erythropoietin,
also known as EPO, were presented at the meeting.  In the
early stages of MDS, many patients experience anemia.  In
fact, approximately 80 percent of patients are anemic, or
have lower than normal red blood cell counts, when they are
initially diagnosed.  Although chronic anemia is rarely
life-threatening, it can drastically reduce a patient's
quality of life.  Therefore, clinicians often recommend
growth factors, such as EPO which stimulates the bone
marrow to produce red blood cells, or frequent blood
transfusions to help treat patients' anemia.

    The MDS Foundation also announced new guidelines on how
to prevent and treat "iron overload," a condition
which can affect patients who require frequent blood
transfusions to help treat their anemia.  There are some
drugs which can help chelate, or bind to iron to help
remove it from the body, such as deferoxamine and
deferasirox, and can reduce the chance of toxic iron
build-up that can damage the heart, liver and other organs.
 The new MDS Foundation guidelines state that patients with
transfusion requirements of more than 2 units of red blood
cells per month or serum ferritin of >1000 should be
chelated with one of the three agents available worldwide. 


    MDS is a cancer in which the bone marrow fails to make
enough functioning blood cells, either red blood cells,
white blood cells or platelets. It is not known exactly how
many people have MDS, however, about 20,000 to 25,000 new
cases are diagnosed annually in the U.S.  In addition,
roughly 30 percent of patients diagnosed with MDS will
progress to acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

    About the MDS Foundation

    The Myelodysplastic Syndromes Foundation, Inc. is a
multi-disciplinary, international organization devoted to
the prevention, treatment, and study of the myelodysplastic
syndromes.  The organization is based upon the premise that
international cooperation will accelerate the process
leading to the control and cure of these diseases.  For
further information, please visit
http://www.mds-foundation.org .


    For more information, please contact: 

    Kathy Heptinstall
    Operating Director
    The MDS Foundation, Inc.
    Tel:   +1-800-MDS-0839