Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center is a world leader in Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS) research. Our experts are developing innovative ways to detect and diagnose MDS, unraveling how MDS progresses to leukemia, and conducting clinical trials that could lead to new treatments. Our researchers pioneered bone marrow transplantation, currently the only type of treatment that can cure MDS.
Our Myelodysplastic Syndrome Researchers
Our interdisciplinary scientists and clinicians work together to prevent, diagnose and treat myelodysplastic syndrome as well as other cancers and diseases.
Patient Treatment and Care
At Fred Hutch, our interdisciplinary teams work together to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer, HIV/AIDS and other diseases. Our aim is to provide patients access to advanced treatment options while getting the best cancer care.
Myelodysplastic Syndrome Clinical Trials
Clinical research is an essential part of the scientific process that leads to new treatments and better care. Clinical trials can also be a way for patients to get early access to new cutting-edge therapies. Our clinical research teams are running clinical studies on various kinds of myelodysplastic syndrome.
Myelodysplastic Syndrome Research
MDS research at Fred Hutch encompasses every aspect of the syndrome’s biology, progression and treatment. It takes place in the laboratory, where we are cracking the secrets of how MDS starts and how it leads to leukemia. It includes our world-renowned clinical research on new methods for treating and caring for MDS patients. And it stretches through a patient’s lifespan, as we track survivors’ quality of life decades after treatment.
Improving Diagnostics and Prognostics
Fred Hutch scientists are developing better ways to diagnose MDS. They are also developing new tests for determining prognosis — the likely course of a patient’s disease. This information can help doctors choose the best treatment for each individual patient.
Blood and Marrow Transplantation
Fred Hutch scientists are improving blood and marrow transplantation to save the lives of more people with MDS. Blood stem cell transplantation is an updated version of bone marrow transplantation in which blood-forming stem cells may be taken from peripheral blood instead of bone marrow.
We are learning the secrets of immune genetics to find better-matched donors for each patient and developing less toxic transplantation regimens. Our researchers are also developing newer forms of transplantation that can offer a patient a good chance of success even without a fully matched donor.
All of these advances are informed by our research on the fundamental biology of blood-forming cells, the immune system and MDS itself.
Immunotherapy
We are world leaders in harnessing the immune system to attack cancer and other diseases. Fred Hutch researchers are developing radioimmunotherapies that use specialized immune proteins known as antibodies to selectively ferry radioactivity to abnormal blood cells in MDS patients, sparing normal tissues.
Survivorship and Treatment Complications
During and after treatment for MDS, patients can experience numerous side effects that affect their physical, emotional and social well-being. Our scientists are developing supportive care for patients to protect them from treatment complications and improve their quality of life. They are also studying the long-term and late effects of MDS treatment to improve the quality of life for survivors, even years after treatment.