Here are some of the highlights from our Program, to see the full Scientific Program, click here.

Genetic Predisposition to MDS

Dr. Akiko Shimamura (Harvard Medical School, USA), will describe various congenital (inborn) syndromes leading to or associated with MDS.

Molecular and Clinical Classifications of MDS

Dr. Peter Greenberg (Stanford University Cancer Institute, USA) will report the long way he and colleagues have gone in developing the currently available and widely used prognostic classifications IPSS and IPSS-R.

Splicing Factor Mutant Myelodysplastic Syndromes

Dr. Luca Malcovati (University of Pavia, Italy) will focus on the splicing factor mutants and their significance in MDS.

Precision Medicine in 2020

Dr. Stephen Nimer (University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, USA), will talk about precision medicine in MDS in the third decade of the 21th century.

Comorbidities and Infections in MDS

Dr. Argiris Symeonidis (University of Patras, Greece) will cover the various comorbidities and infections complicating the course of MDS patients.

Optimizing Transfusion Support in MDS. Is What We Are Doing What Patients Want?

Dr. Rena Buckstein (Odette Cancer Centre, Canada) will address the problem of transfusion support and iron overload, complicating almost every patient who becomes transfusion dependent.

Genetics of MDS

Dr. Rafael Bejar (University of California San Diego), will describe the genetic abnormalities characterizing MDS and their clinical and prognostic significance

MDS and Clonal Hematopoiesis

Dr. David Steensma (Harvard Medical School, USA), will talk about the clonal hematopoiesis that is often found in normal healthy elderly individuals, and the risk of leading to MDS. He will focus on the term that he proposed (Blood 2015) CHIP.

ICUS and CCUS: non-MDS, pre-MDS or early MDS?

Dr. Luca Malcovati (University of Pavia, Italy) will cover the pre-MDS states, such as idiopathic cytopenia of undetermined significance (ICUS), and their clinical significance, as well as the course towards MDS in some of them (see Blood 2017).

The Role of Stem Cells

Dr. Ghulam Mufti (King’s College Hospital, UK) will discuss the role of stem cells in the pathogenesis of MDS.

Innate Immunity in MDS Pathogenesis

Dr. Alan List (Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, USA) will report the recent findings of his lab, studying the inter-relationship between MDS pathogenesis, inflammation of aging (inflammaging) and the immune system.

Lessons from the EUMDS Registry

Dr. Theo de Witte (Radboud Institute, the Netherlands), Chief of the EU MDS group, will talk about the lessons the group has learnt and the real-world findings from the 10-year pan-European MDS registry, now including 3000 patients.

Can We Diagnose MDS Without a BM Examination?

Dr. Howard Oster (Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center) will describe the work of the Tel Aviv team, based on 1000 tested individuals, and developing a web application, allowing to skipping  bone marrow examination and diagnose MDS in many patients by using simple clinical and lab parameters.