We reported the different clinical features between Japanese and German refractory anemia (RA) patients in FAB classification. We re-analyzed the clinical features by WHO classification revised in 2008. The frequencies of refractory cytopenia with unilineage dysplasia (RCUD) and myelodysplastic syndrome-unclassified (MDS-U) with pancytopenia in Japanese patients were higher than in German patients (p<0.001). Refractory cytopenia with multilineage dysplasia patients showed the most unfavorable prognosis in both countries. The higher frequencies of MDS-U with pancytopenia and RCUD in Japanese patients may influence the different clinical characteristics between Japanese and German FAB-RA patients.
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