Diagnosis of Myelodysplastic Syndromes and Related Conditions: Rates of Discordance between Local and Central Review in the NHLBI MDS Natural History Study

Background Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are a collection of hematopoietic disorders with widely variable prognoses and treatment options. Pathologic diagnosis can be challenging and misdiagnosis can impact patient therapy and outcome. How commonly misdiagnosis occurs, and the severity of diagnostic errors, is not known. Here, we report interim analyses of patients (pts) with cytopenia and suspected MDS from the NHLBI National MDS Natural History Study (https://thenationalmdsstudy.net ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02775383) assessing MDS occurrence and rates of agreement on classification of MDS/MDS-related disorders by local and centralized review. Methods Pts with cytopenias and clinically suspected MDS were identified between 6/16 and 6/18 from 84 participating centers in this ongoing multi-Institutional Cooperative Group study, with a goal of recruiting 2000 MDS (WHO 2016 subcategories), MDS/MPN or low blast count acute myeloid leukemia (AML,