MDS International Prognostic Scoring System (IPSS)

Myelodysplastic syndromes are a heterogeneous group of diseases with variable outcomes. Patients with low-risk disease often have longer survivals and the primary therapeutic goals include improvement of ineffective hematopoiesis and reduction of iron overload. Higher risk patients are managed with the goal of delaying transformation to acute leukemia and extending survival. The International Prognostic Scoring System is the most commonly used tool in MDS to predict long-term outcome.