We analyzed the clinical and hematologic data of 231 patients diagnosed with de novo myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), identified cytogenetic characteristics, and evaluated the significance of prognostic systems. The median age was 51 years and the distribution of MDS subtypes demonstrated a markedly low incidence of MDS with deletion 5q (0.9%). The proportions of World Health Organization (WHO) categories differed according to patient age group. Refractory anemia with excess blasts-2 demonstrated the most significant trend toward increased frequency with advancing age. The incidence of abnormal karyotypes in our study was comparable to a previous study (50.2%), although with different patterns. The most frequent cytogenetic abnormality was +8 (34.5% of patients with abnormality), followed by 1q+ (17.2%), 5q- (15.5%), and 20q- (12.9%). Majority of +8, 1q+, -5/5q- and -7/7q- cases combined with additional cytogenetic abnormalities (60.0%, 75.0%, 88.5% and 100%, respectively). The median survival time was 49.5 months and 13.8% patients developed acute leukemia. WHO Prognostic Scoring System (WPSS) and age group were significant factors associated with overall survival. Otherwise, International Prognostic Scoring System was not included in the model. These results demonstrated the different cytogenetic features in Korean MDS patients compared to those of Western country. In addition, WPSS and age group are applicable to our patients as an effective and reliable prognostic model.
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