Cytogenetic Analysis Reveals Lower Risk Profile in African American Patients With MDS

A retrospective study explored the cytogenetic profile of African American (AA) patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), which arise from clonal mutations in hematopoietic stem cells, leading to bone marrow dysplasia, ineffective hematopoiesis, and peripheral cytopenias.

Although cytogenetic abnormalities play a significant role in the prognosis and treatment of MDS, their incidence in the AA population remains understudied. This research, conducted in a community clinic in Brooklyn, New York, and presented during the Twelfth Annual Meeting of the Society of Hematologic Oncology in Houston, Texas, aimed to address this gap by analyzing cytogenetic data from AA patients with MDS.

African American Patients With MDS Show Lower Risk

The study included adult AA patients who presented to the cancer clinic between January 2012 and December 2023, focusing on those with available cytogenetic data. Of the 48 patients identified, 18 met the study’s criteria. The group included 12 males (66.6%) and six females (33.3%), with a median age of 79 years (range, 51–95 years). The researchers collected data on complete blood counts, bone marrow biopsies, and cytogenetic results, which were categorized with the revised International Prognostic Scoring System (IPSS-R) into five risk groups: very low, low, intermediate, high, and very high.

Results showed that cytogenetic abnormalities were present in 22% of the AA patients, indicating that abnormal cytogenetics in this population are not more frequent than in the general MDS population, where the rate is around 45%. Most of the AA patients fell into lower IPSS-R risk categories, with seven patients (38%) classified as very low risk, eight (44%) as low risk, one (5%) as intermediate risk, and two (11%) as very high risk. None of the patients were categorized as high risk. The average hemoglobin level among the patients was 10.166 ± 2.53 g/dL, with a mean absolute neutrophil count of 1.51 ± 0.759 × 10⁹/L, and a mean platelet count of 114.72 ± 51.488 × 10⁹/L.

The findings suggest that the frequency of abnormal cytogenetics among AA patients with MDS is similar to or lower than that in the general population, with a notable concentration in the lower-risk IPSS-R categories.

Reference

Kaur N, Biswas R, Ojha VS, et al. Incidence of cytogenetic abnormalities in myelodysplastic syndrome in the African American population: a decade-long single-center real-world experience. Abstract #MDS-398. Presented at the Twelfth Annual Meeting of the Society of Hematologic Oncology. September 4-7, 2024; Houston, Texas.