I can clarify one fact: what MDS-U means.
Even though it's called "Unclassified MDS" it does represent a specific condition:
- You have one or more cytopenias, meaning that your red count, white count, or platelet count is low (not necessarily all 3).
- You have abnormal changes in the structure or form of your white blood cell precursors.
- You have abnormal changes in the structure or form of your platelet precursors.
- You do not have abnormal changes in the structure or form of your red blood cell precursors.
- Your blast counts are normal in blood and bone marrow.
- You aren't in the RCMD (Refractory Cytopenia with Multilineage Dysplasia) category. The difference depends on how many cytopenias you have, your monocyte count, and which and how many of your cell precursors are dysplastic.
1% to 2% of MDS patients fall into the MDS-U classification category.