PROGRAM OVERVIEW

This presentation reviews contemporary diagnosis and prognosis estimation for patients with myelodysplastic syndromes. The presenter discusses how newer molecular data including recurrent point mutations in genes encoding epigenetic regulators and splicing factors can be incorporated into MDS risk assessment.

TARGET AUDIENCE

This activity is intended for physicians, oncology nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and other health care professionals interested in the treatment and management of patients with Myelodysplastic Syndromes.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Upon completion of the educational activity, participants should be able to:

• Apply symptom management strategies to maximize patient safety, quality of life, and adherence to the therapeutic regimen while minimizing complications due to disease process and treatments.
• Apply key principles necessary for optimal clinical management of the older adult including analysis of co-morbidities and criteria for safe and effective outpatient management.

FACULTY & DISCLOSURE

David Steensma, MD
Adult Leukemia Program
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Associate Professor of Medicine
Harvard Medical School
Boston, MA

Dr. David Steensma is currently an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, attending physician at Brigham & Women’s Hospital, and a faculty member in the Adult Leukemia Program at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. He is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians, and a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha medical honor society, the Food and Drug Administration Oncology Drugs Advisory Committee, the American Society of Hematology, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, and the Board of Directors of the MDS Foundation. Dr. Steensma is a member of the editorial board of 5 journals, and is the Consultant Editor responsible for the “Art of Oncology” section of the Journal of Clinical Oncology. He has more than 200 publications in peer-reviewed journals including Lancet, New England Journal of Medicine, Nature Chemical Biology, Blood, the Journal of Clinical Oncology, and Cancer Research. His laboratory and clinical research has been funded by the National Cancer Institute, the Evans Foundation MDS Clinical Research Consortium, and several philanthropic groups. His primary clinical and research focus is myelodysplastic syndromes.

Dr. Steensma has disclosed the following relevant financial relationships:
Consultant – Amgen, Boehringer Ingelheim, Celgene Corporation, Genoptix, Inc., Incyte Corporation