Monocytosis at the time of diagnosis has a negative prognostic impact in myelodysplastic syndromes with less than 5% bone marrow blasts

The prognostic impact of monocytosis has not yet been determined in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). We examined absolute monocyte counts in the peripheral blood at the time of diagnosis in 1949 patients with a bone marrow blast count < 5%, a condition we call MDS < EB1 (MDS with a blast percentage lower than that of MDS with excess blasts 1, according to the WHO classification). Monocytosis (> 600/µl) was associated with higher median hemoglobin, WBC, and ANC, and more favorable karyotype (p =.001). Nevertheless, monocytosis was associated with shorter overall survival (OS) (108 vs. 126 months, p =.002) and earlier transformation into AML (p <.001). In patients with sideroblastic phenotype, the percentage of ring sideroblasts significantly correlated with the monocyte count (p =.005), and OS was significantly shorter when monocytosis was documented (88 vs. 132 months, p =.004). The survival disadvantage of patients with MDS < EB1 and peripheral blood monocytosis suggests that these patients suffer from a CMML-like disease. Even though they are generally classified as MDS with persistent monocytosis, such patients should be considered candidates for therapeutic options employed in CMML.