Data Presented at This Year´s ASCO Meeting Provide New Insights into the Treatment of Patients with Myelodysplastic Syndromes

The Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS) Foundation announced today that data presented at this year´s American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting in Chicago demonstrate significant advances in the treatment of patients with MDS which are helping patients to live longer with a better quality of life.

At this year´s meeting, Dr. Alan List, of the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, FL, presented data which showed that azacitidine significantly extends overall survival for patients with MDS compared to conventional care regimens (CCR). Patients who received azacitidine had higher one–year survival rates in all response categories, including partial remission, stable disease and hematologic improvement, compared to those who received CCR without necessarily achieving complete remission.

Based upon this study, investigators have concluded that achieving complete remission is not obligatory for extending survival in higher–risk MDS patients.

Dr. List´s study presented today was a follow–up study to an earlier Phase III international trial which showed that azacitidine was the first MDS treatment to significantly extend overall survival in MDS patients compared to CCR. Patients who received azacitidine had a median survival of approximately two and a half years, more than nine months longer than those receiving CCR.

Additionally at the meeting, Dr. Lewis Silverman, of Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York, NY, presented data from a phase I/II study evaluating azacitidine in combination with vorinostat, an oral histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor for the treatment of patients with MDS and acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Patients receiving this combination achieved an 83 percent overall response rate, suggesting that the combination of these drugs may help patients achieve better responses than azacitidine alone. Additionally, 86 percent of patients were alive at one year.

"The studies presented at this year´s ASCO meeting are exciting for patients and reinforce the role that the new therapies play in the treatment of MDS," said Kathy Heptinstall, Operating Director of the Myelodysplastic Syndromes Foundation, "We are excited about future studies of epigenetic therapies, like azacitidine, which are helping patients to live longer and have a better quality of life."

MDS is a cancer in which the bone marrow fails to make enough functioning blood cells, either red blood cells, white blood cells or platelets. It is not known exactly how many people have MDS, however, about 20,000 to 25,000 new cases are diagnosed annually in the U.S. In addition, roughly 30 percent of patients diagnosed with MDS will progress to acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

About the MDS Foundation

The Myelodysplastic Syndromes Foundation, Inc. is a multi–disciplinary, international organization devoted to the prevention, treatment, and study of the myelodysplastic syndromes. The organization is based upon the premise that international cooperation will accelerate the process leading to the control and cure of these diseases. For further information, please visit http://www.mds–foundation.org.