Chromosomal translocations are rare in the myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML). With the exception of t(3q), translocations are not explicitly considered in the cytogenetic classification of the IPSS-R and their impact on disease progression and patient survival is unknown. The present study was aimed at determining the prognostic impact of translocations in the context of the cytogenetic classification of the IPSS-R. We evaluated 1,653 patients from the Spanish Registry of MDS diagnosed with MDS or CMML and an abnormal karyotype by conventional cytogenetic analysis. Translocations were identified in 168 patients (T group). Compared with the 1,485 patients with abnormal karyotype without translocations (non-T group), the T group had a larger proportion of patients with refractory anemia with excess of blasts and higher scores in both the cytogenetic and global IPSS-R. Translocations were associated with a significantly shorter survival and higher incidence of transformation into AML at univariate analysis but both features disappeared after multivariate adjustment for the IPSS-R cytogenetic category. Patients with single or double translocations other than t(3q) had an outcome similar to those in the non-T group in the intermediate cytogenetic risk category of the IPSS-R. In conclusion, the presence of translocations identifies a subgroup of MDS/CMML patients with a more aggressive clinical presentation that can be explained by a higher incidence of complex karyotypes. Single or double translocations other than t(3q) should be explicitly considered into the intermediate risk category of cytogenetic IPSS-R classification.
© 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.