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Old Wed Apr 30, 2008, 01:00 PM
Birgitta-A Birgitta-A is offline
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Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Stockholm, Sweden
Posts: 1,918
Excess blast cells

Hi Alison,
Sorry! Your question about blast cells disappeared so I never saw it - here is an answer about excess blast cells (immature blood cells):
"MDS is divided into five different subtypes that are classified according to the number and appearance of blast cells in the bone marrow. It is important for doctors to know the type of MDS a patient has, because each subtype affects patients differently and requires specific treatment. The International Prognostic Scoring System (IPSS) can help the doctor to determine the best treatment for an individual patient. The subtypes are as follows:

Refractory anemia (RA). Bone marrow with less than 5% blast cells and abnormal red blood cell blasts.
Refractory anemia with ring sideroblasts (RARS). Bone marrow with less than 5% blasts and characteristic abnormalities in red blood cells.
Refractory anemia with excess blasts (RAEB). Bone marrow with 5-20% blast cells, and higher risk of changing into acute leukemia over time.
Refractory anemia with excess blasts in transformation (RAEBT). Bone marrow with 21-30% blast cells. This form is most likely to change into acute leukemia.
Chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML). Marrow with 5-20% blasts and excess monocytes (a specific type of white blood cell).
Kind regards
Birgitta-A
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