The cytogenetics of myelodysplastic syndromes

The myelodysplastic syndromes are a collection of five clinico-pathological entities with a wide spectrum of clinical behaviours and survival outcomes. Cytogenetic analysis has been instrumental in refining the prognosis, predicting the likelihood of progression to acute myeloid leukaemia and median survival, and in establishing clonality of these diseases. This review highlights the most frequent abnormalities and summarizes their clinical and genetic features.