Vol. 8, Issue 3, Part A (2025)

Aim: The aim is to identify the distinctive morphological abnormalities in bone marrow cells and evaluate their accuracy and usefulness in diagnosing myelodysplastic syndrome.

Materials and methods: This retrospective study analyzed 50 patients with dysplasia. Out of these, 20 patients were diagnosed with Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS) and 30 with non-clonal anemia. The MDS group had a median age of 42, while the non-clonal anemia group had a median age of 44, with no significant age difference (P > 0.05). MDS subtypes included MDS-SLD, MDS-MLD, MDS-RS, MDS-EB, MDS with isolated del(5q), and MDS-U. Data analysis was done using SSPS software.

Results: The study included 50 participants, with 20 diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and 30 with non-clonal anemia. The groups were comparable in age and gender distribution, showing no significant differences. Among the MDS patients, the most common subtype was MDS with excess blasts (MDS-EB), followed by MDS with ring sideroblasts (MDS-RS), multi-lineage dysplasia (MDS-MLD), and single lineage dysplasia (MDS-SLD), with fewer cases of isolated del(5q) and unclassifiable MDS. Cytogenetic abnormalities were observed in 9 MDS cases, with trisomy 8 being the most frequent, followed by del(5q), −Y, and del(20q), indicating the cytogenetic diversity in MDS. In contrast, the non-clonal anemia group showed a varied distribution of subtypes, including immune thrombocytopenia (ITP), megaloblastic anemia, iron deficiency anemia, hemolytic anemia, and anemia of chronic disease. Significantly higher rates of dysplastic features—dyserythropoiesis, dysgranulopoiesis, and dysmegakaryopoiesis—were found in the MDS group compared to the non-clonal anemia group (P< 0.05), underlining their diagnostic relevance in distinguishing MDS.

Conclusion: This study demonstrates that the presence of significant dysplastic features and specific cytogenetic abnormalities plays a crucial role in distinguishing myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) from non-clonal anemia, supporting the importance of comprehensive bone marrow evaluation in the diagnostic process.