Dear Lynne, The primary concern surrounding the use of RBC transfusions is the risk of iron overload, which occurs when excess iron is accumulated in the body over the course of repeated RBC transfusions due to the body’s inability to clear the increased iron. The consequences of sustained iron overload are serious, including organ damage resulting in congestive heart failure, diabetes, liver dysfunction, as well as dysfunctional hematopoiesis.
As MDS are cancers most commonly diagnosed in older patients, comorbidities are also more common. In a large, population-based study of 1,708 newly diagnosed patients with MDS, 51% had comorbid conditions. The most common nonhematologic comorbidities observed were diabetes, congestive heart failure (CHF), and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Patients with MDS and CHF or COPD had significantly shorter survival than patients without those conditions, whereas diabetes did not appear to have an impact on survival in this study.
.
