Haemopoietic growth factors in the treatment of myelodysplastic syndrome

The myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are clonal stem cell disorders characterised by ineffective haematopoiesis, various degrees of cytopenia and risk of transformation to acute myelogenous leukaemia. The allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (AHSCT) is the only potentially curative treatment for MDS; unfortunately, it can only be prescribed to a small percentage of patients. Although the high-risk group of patients are candidates for AHSCT, low-risk MDS patients are generally assigned to low-intensity therapies (e.g., supportive care, haematopoietic growth factors (HGF), biological response modifiers or immunosuppression) with the therapeutic goals to improve the cytopenias and to enhance the quality of life. Clinically available HGFs enable the stimulation of erythropoiesis, granulocytopoiesis and, with lesser efficacy, the megakaryocytopoiesis; however, they are not devoid of imperfections. This patent review focuses on the latest developments of new promising HGFs that could be significantly utilised in MDS.