Why is understanding genetic mutations and cytogenetics in MDS important?

Valeria Santini, MD, Associate Professor of Hematology at the University of Florence, Italy, describes how genetic mutations and cytogenetics give doctors insight into how MDS is likely to progress and also serve as potential targets for targeted MDS therapy. Testing for mutations in specific genes and looking for changes in the overall karyotype, or genetic profile, are both important to learn how MDS may evolve with time and treatment and can help doctors choose the most likely effective therapies.