Journal of Blood Disorders & Transfusion

The current landscape of myelodysplastic syndromes

3^rd International Conference on Hematology & Blood Disorders

November 02-04, 2015 Atlanta, USA

Michael Keng

University of Virginia, USA

Scientific Tracks Abstracts: J Blood Disord Transfus

Abstract:

Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are a heterogeneous group of clonal hematopoietic stem cell disorders characterized by cytopenias as a result of ineffective hematopoiesis and a propensity to progress to acute myeloid leukemia and premature mortality in many patients. MDS, especially lower-risk MDS can be diagnostically challenging with substantial morphologic overlap with nutritional deficiencies, toxic injury, infections and some inherited disorders. Recent studies have identified novel genetic changes which help to provide a better understanding of the underlying pathobiology of MDS. This session will review how to distinguish lower-risk from higher-risk MDS, goals of therapy and standard, non-transplant treatment approaches. The session will then build on these basics to highlight mechanistic-based approaches justifying novel mono-therapies and combinations of drugs to treat lower-risk and higher-risk disease.

Biography :

Michael Keng has received his BS and MD degrees from Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan. He has completed his Internal Medicine Residency at University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California and Hematology and Medical Oncology Fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio. He has then joined the University of Virginia (Charlottesville, Virginia) in 2014. He currently holds a Faculty Appointment in Medicine in the Division of Hematology/Oncology at University of Virginia. His clinical areas of interest are focused on clinical trials in hematologic malignancies including myelodysplastic syndromes, leukemias and other myeloid malignancies and bone marrow failures. He has a special interest in treating the elderly population, determining optimal combinations and timing of targeted agents and studying patient safety and quality improvement.

Email: MK2PV@hscmail.mcc.virginia.edu