Optimizing Care for Lower-Risk Myelodysplastic Syndromes: Translating Evidence to Clinical Practice

Panelists discuss how recent advances in treating Lower-Risk Myelodysplastic Syndromes have impacted clinical practice, using hypothetical scenarios to demonstrate their approach to incorporating new data into patient care.

EP. 1: Understanding Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS): Diagnosis, Classification, and Risk Assessment

September 30th 2024

Panelists discuss how myelodysplastic syndromes are diagnosed, classified, and managed, covering prevalence, symptoms, risk stratification tools, prognosis for lower-risk cases, and current treatment challenges.

EP. 2: Navigating the Heterogeneity of LR-MDS: Importance of Molecular Testing & Risk Stratifying

September 30th 2024

Panelists discuss how risk stratification tools like IPSS-M are applied in practice for lower-risk myelodysplastic syndromes, addressing prognosis communication and current treatment challenges for this patient group.

EP. 3: Clinical Scenario 1: 76-Year-Old Man With Newly Diagnosed MDS With Symptomatic Anemia, RS Positive

October 7th 2024

Panelists discuss how they would approach initial assessment, treatment selection, and laboratory testing for a patient case, considering factors like symptoms and individual patient characteristics to guide first-line therapy decisions.

EP. 4: Tailoring Treatment for LR-MDS: Patient Factors, Treatment Goals, and Patient Outcomes

October 7th 2024

Panelists discuss how treatment goals for patients with lower-risk MDS are established and analyze the findings of Oliva et al’s study on the relationship between hemoglobin levels and quality of life in transfusion-dependent patients with lower-risk MDS treated with luspatercept or epoetin.

EP. 5: First-Line Luspatercept in LR-MDS: A Deep Dive Into the COMMANDS Trial and Clinical Implications in the Real-Life Practice Setting

October 15th 2024

Panelists discuss how luspatercept’s mechanism of action, its first-line indication for patients with lower-risk MDS with ring sideroblasts, and the results of the COMMANDS trial support its use as an effective alternative to traditional erythropoiesis-stimulating agents, potentially changing the treatment landscape for transfusion-dependent patients with MDS.

EP. 6: Managing Luspatercept Therapy: Dosing, Adverse Effects, and Monitoring

October 15th 2024

Panelists discuss how they approach luspatercept dosing strategies in clinical practice; manage treatment-related adverse events such as fatigue, hypertension, and diarrhea; and monitor labs for signs of relapse, while also considering real-world dose escalation outcomes and the correlation between peripheral blood and bone marrow biopsy mutations in patients with MDS.

EP. 7: Second-Line LR- MDS Setting: Treatment Options and Considerations

October 22nd 2024

Panelists discuss how they determine thresholds for changing therapy in patients with MDS, evaluate second-line treatment options including the potential use of ESAs after luspatercept, and offer key takeaways for community colleagues managing similar clinical scenarios.

EP. 8: Patient Profile: 66-Year-Old Woman with Newly Diagnosed LR-MDS, RS Negative

October 22nd 2024

Panelists discuss how they would initially assess and approach treatment for this patient case, considering their clinical experience and practice patterns in managing similar scenarios.

EP. 9: Luspatercept Role in the RS-Negative Population and Expert Perspectives on the Role of EPO Levels

October 28th 2024

Panelists discuss how luspatercept’s role in ring sideroblast–negative MDS populations is evolving based on recent clinical trial data, including the COMMANDS trial and PACE-MDS study, with particular attention to the impact ofEPO levels on treatment decisions and outcomes.

EP. 10: First-Line ESA vs Luspatercept in LR-MDS: Choosing the Most Appropriate Treatment Option for Each Individual Patient

October 28th 2024

Panelists discuss how their clinical experience with ESA failure rates and timelines compares with reported outcomes in large community practice studies, and how they counsel patients on the choice between luspatercept and ESAs as first-line therapy for lower-risk MDS, incorporating patient preferences and patient-reported outcomes from recent clinical trials.