A nationwide non-interventional epidemiological data registry on myelodysplastic syndromes in Lebanon
Zaher K Otrock 1, Nabil Chamseddine 2, Ziad M Salem 3, Tarek Wehbe 4, Mouna Al-Ayoubi 5, Moussa Dhaini 6, Joseph Kattan 7, Walid Mokaddem 8, Therese Abi Nasr 9, Oussama Jradi 6, Fadi S Farhat 10, Mahmoud Wehbe 11, Mohammad H Haidar 12, Mohamed A Kharfan-Dabaja 13, Nizar Bitar 14, Mirna El Hajj 2, Adel M Kadri 15, Francois G Kamar 16, Hanan Yassine 17, Hassan Khodr 18, Ali T Taher 3, Noha Hakime 19, Rami Ar Mahfouz 20, Wassim Serhal 21, Ali Bazarbachi 3, Hussein Z Farhat 21
Affiliations
1Department of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine St. Louis, MO, USA.
2Department of Hematology/Oncology, Saint George Hospital University Medical Center Beirut, Lebanon.
3Department of Internal Medicine, American University of Beirut Medical Center Beirut, Lebanon.
4Lebanese Canadian Hospital Beirut, Lebanon.
5Al-Koura Hospital Al-Koura, Lebanon.
6Labib Medical Center Saida, Lebanon.
7Hôtel-Dieu de France University Hospital Beirut, Lebanon.
8Islamic Hospital Tripoli, Lebanon.
9Middle East Institute of Health Bsalim, Al-Metn, Lebanon.
10Saint Joseph University and Lebanese University Beirut, Lebanon.
11Hammoud Hospital University Medical Center Saida, Lebanon.
12Bahman Hospital Beirut, Lebanon.
13Department of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, Moffitt Cancer Center Tampa, FL, USA.
14Sahel General Hospital Beirut, Lebanon.
15Department of Medicine, Tel Chiha Hospital Zahle, Lebanon.
16Clemenceau Medical Center Beirut, Lebanon.
17Sibline Governmental Hospital Sibline, Lebanon.
18Haykal Hospital Tripoli, Lebanon.
19Department of Clinical Laboratory, Saint George Hospital University Medical Center Beirut, Lebanon.
20Department of Pathology, American University of Beirut Medical Center Beirut, Lebanon.
21Department of Laboratory Medicine, Rizk Hospital University Medical Center Beirut, Lebanon.
PMID: 27069756
PMCID: PMC4769350
Free PMC article
Abstract
Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are a heterogeneous group of clonal hematopoietic disorders characterized by peripheral blood cytopenias, blood cells dysplasia, and increased risk for progression to acute leukemia.Physicians should be vigilant in diagnosing MDS and should be aware of the contemporary therapies that are always in progress. Most of the data on MDS epidemiology and management comes from developed countries. The incidence and features of MDS in the Arab countries, among them Lebanon, are not known. We undertook a nationwide epidemiological registry study of all newly diagnosed MDS cases through 2010-2011. Patients were referred by 21 hematologists/oncologists practicing in 17 hospitals and medical centers distributed across the entire country. 58 patients (29 males and 29 females) with confirmed MDS were included. The calculated incidence rate of MDS was 0.71 per 100,000 people. The median age at diagnosis was 73 years (range 16-86). The most common complaints on presentation were fatigue (70.7%), weakness (60.3%) and pallor (43.1%). Most patients were diagnosed as refractory anemia with excess blasts (RAEB; 36.2%) and refractory cytopenia with multilineage dysplasia (RCMD; 32.8%). This paper constitutes the first epidemiological report on the incidence and specific subtypes of MDS in Lebanon.
Keywords: Lebanon; Myelodysplastic syndromes; diagnosis; epidemiology; features; registry.
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