Dysregulation of immune cell and cytokine signalling correlates with clinical outcomes in myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS)

Abstract

Objectives: Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are characterised by ineffective haematopoiesis. Although hypomethylating agents (HMA) have improved survival in higher-risk MDS, most patients eventually succumb to progressive disease. Utilising samples collected prospectively from three MDS clinical trials, we analysed genetic and immunological biomarkers and correlated them with clinical outcomes. Methods: A hundred and fifty four samples were analysed from 133 de novo MDS patients for T-cell and myeloid cell immunophenotyping and gene expression analysis. Treatments were with HMA or immunomodulatory drug (IMiD) alone or in combination. Results: We observed differences in immune cell subsets be..