Grant: Fellowship - Priority Announcement: Bone Marrow Failure (SHOPP)

Myelodysplastic syndromes are common blood disorders that can affect as many as one in 1000 Canadians over the age of 65. They are characterized by low blood counts that require frequent blood transfusions. The development of iron overload in these patients is inevitable. The iron deposits in vital organs such as the heart and the liver and can lead to organ dysfunction. Deferasirox is a well-studied drug that helps remove iron from the body. Most people with this disorder die due to progression of their disease to acute leukemia through multiple mechanisms. Iron overload in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes has been shown to be associated with shorter survival, and potentially a higher chance of leukemia. In a certain subgroup of higher risk patients, the drug azacitidine has been shown to decrease the chance of progression to leukemia and death from it. Thus, it is presently the standard of care for these patients. However, 50% of higher risk patients are still unresponsive to this medication, leaving a large group of patients for which other treatment options are emergently needed. Given that a large proportion of higher risk MDS patients fail to respond to azacitidine, and the evidence that iron deposition may lead to increased leukemic transformation, we would like to study whether iron removal from the body with deferasirox potentiates azacitadine in its effects on overall survival, as well as the chance of leukemia transformation. This question needs to be addressed in a randomized controlled trial, and the first step is a preliminary study to determine if the combination of azacitidine and deferasirox has any biologic effect. This study will determine whether this combination leads to blood count improvement over azacitiditine alone. If this drug combination ultimately proves more useful than azacitidine alone with respect to survival, this has the potential to impact the care of a large proportion of patients with myelodysplastic syndromes.