Search

Myelodysplastic syndrome represents a heterogeneous group of diseases, typically characterised by ineffective haematopoiesis and transfusion dependency. Iron chelators currently represent an important treatment modality in patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), who given the presence of anaemia, are dependent on repeated blood transfusions leading to the accumulation of toxic iron in organs. It has been shown that chelation therapy significantly improves overall survival and leukaemia-free survival in patients with MDS. Besides iron chelation, iron chelators also exhibit significant antiproliferative and pro-apoptotic effects on cancer cells. The suggested mechanisms of antitumor effects of iron chelators include inhibition of cell cycle progression, induction of endoplasmic reticulum stress, accumulation of DNA damage specifically in cancer cells and modulation of antitumor immune response. The exact mechanism of action of chelating agents on cancer cells is not yet fully understood and even our data suggest that it is likely to be very complex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]