An analysis of the demographic profile, clinical manifestations, investigations and outcome of paediatric myelodysplastic syndrome: A single centre, cross-sectional study

Abstract

Purpose: Pediatric myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) is a relatively rare entity, with distinct clinical features and more aggressive course than its adult counterpart. The aim of this study was to analyze the incidence of pediatric myelodysplastic syndrome at a tertiary cancer care center in southern India along with clinical manifestations, investigations and outcome. Methods: On retrospective analysis of 1094 cases of pediatric hematological malignancies over a five-year period from September 2009 to August 2014, a total of seven cases of pediatric myelodysplastic syndrome were identified. Presenting complaints, physical examination, investigations including haemogram, biochemistry, bone marrow examination and cytogenetics were reviewed. The diagnosis of MDS was made if there was dysplasia in at least 10% of cells in two or more cell lineages. All patients were risk stratified using the revised IPSS. Results: Out of 1094 cases of pediatric hematological malignancies presenting at our institute within the study period, there were only seven cases of pediatric MDS with an incidence of 0.65%. There were no genetic predispositions nor any cases of therapy related MDS. The most common presentation was with fever and all patients had significant splenomegaly. All patients had anemia (Median-6.2 gm / dL) with elevated WBC counts (Median-30,900 / uL) and thrombocytopenia (Median-50,000 / uL). The marrow cytogenetics was normal in five patients. Most patients fell into the high and very high-risk category of the revised IPSS, with only two patients of low risk. All seven patients were given only supportive care but one progressed to AML for which he was treated with remission induction. Only two patients were alive at the time of analysis and median survival was 9 months. Conclusion: Pediatric MDS is a rare disease with a short clinical history, aggressive course and generally poor outcomes as compared to the adult variant. A hematopoietic stem cell transplant may be the only viable option for survival.