Impact of Hypomethylating Agent Therapy in Myelodysplastic Syndromes with Chromosome 3 Abnormalities

Background In myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), abnormalities of chromosome 3 (i.e. inversion 3 (inv(3)), translocation 3q (t(3q)), or deletion 3q (del(3q)) represent a poor-risk karyotype in the Revised International Prognostic Scoring System (IPSS-R). In acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients with 3q abnormalities, patients with inv(3)/t3;3 represented the most unfavorable group with a median overall survival (OS) of 10.3 months (Lugthart et al., 2010). We previously presented a single institution experience regarding outcomes of MDS patients with chromosome 3 abnormalities. Here, we sought to further define outcomes of chromosome 3 abnormalities in MDS and address the impact of hypomethylating agents (HMA) on outcome in multiple institutions.