Prevalence of MDS

Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) primarily is a disease of the elderly, especially affecting older Caucasian men.1 Over 80% of the people diagnosed with MDS are over age 60.1

The disease has a fairly low incidence, though reported rates vary. The Aplastic Anemia & MDS International Foundation reports that “in the United States, between 12,000 and 20,000 new MDS diagnoses are made each year, for a population incidence of 22-45 per 100,000 people over 70 years of age per year.”1 Other reports estimate the incidence of de novo MDS to be about three to four cases per 100,000 people per year. As discussed in the Etiology of MDS section, MDS mainly appears de novo. The incidence of therapy-associated MDS is not well known.2

Although MDS primarily affects older people, it does occur in younger people, and in recent years, there has been a reported increase in the number of cases in people under age 50. Also, it appears that until age 50, MDS is slightly more common in women.1

Because MDS mainly affects the aging population, it is difficult to classify MDS as a terminal disease. Some patients indeed die as a direct result of the effects of the disease, especially infections and bleeding. Also, for about 30% of MDS patients, their disease will evolve into acute myeloid leukemia (AML), which does not respond well to chemotherapy.3

Taken together, about 70%-75% of patients with MDS and AML will die as a direct result of their disease. For the remainder of MDS patients, their disease will not necessarily influence their life expectancy.3

Visit other pages in this section to learn more about MDS, including Diagnostic Scoring Systems and Epigenetics and the Role of Methylation.