Espa?ol
PDFs by language
Our 24/7 cancer helpline provides information and answers for people dealing with cancer. We can connect you with trained cancer information specialists who will answer questions about a cancer diagnosis and provide guidance and a compassionate ear.
Chat live online
Select the Live Chat button at the bottom of the page
Call us at 1-800-227-2345
Available any time of day or night
Our highly trained specialists are available 24/7 via phone and on weekdays can assist through online chat. We connect patients, caregivers, and family members with essential services and resources at every step of their cancer journey. Ask us how you can get involved and support the fight against cancer. Some of the topics we can assist with include:
For medical questions, we encourage you to review our information with your doctor.
Supportive therapies are treatments that help treat (or prevent) the symptoms or complications of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), as opposed to treating the MDS directly. Supportive therapy might be used alone or along with other treatments for MDS. The main purpose of this type of treatment is to improve the comfort and quality of life for someone diagnosed with cancer no matter what stage the cancer or the goal of treatment might be. You might also hear supportive care referred to as palliative care, symptom management, or comfort care.
For example, for many patients with MDS, one of the main goals of treatment is to prevent the problems caused by low blood cell counts.
Low red blood cell counts (anemia) can cause severe fatigue and other symptoms. Patients with MDS and anemia that’s causing symptoms might benefit from getting injections of a manmade version of the growth factor erythropoietin, which can sometimes help the bone marrow make new red blood cells.
If this isn't helpful, red blood cell transfusions might be needed. Some people are concerned about a slight risk of infections (such as hepatitis or HIV) spread by blood transfusion, but this possibility is very unlikely, and the benefits of the transfused cells greatly outweigh this risk.
For people with some types of MDS who haven’t been helped by erythropoietin growth factors and who need regular blood transfusions, treatment with a drug called a red blood cell maturation agent, such as luspatercept, might be an option. This type of drug can sometimes help lower the number of transfusions a person needs.
Blood transfusions can cause excess iron to build up in the body. The iron can build up over time in the liver, heart, and other organs, affecting how they function. This is usually seen only in people who receive many transfusions over a period of years. Patients at risk for iron overload are often advised to avoid taking iron supplements or multivitamins that contain iron.
Drugs called chelating agents, which bind with the iron so that the body can get rid of it, can be used in patients who develop iron overload from red blood cell transfusions (unless they have poor kidney function).
For more information about red blood cell transfusions, see Blood Transfusion and Donation.
MDS patients with low platelet counts might have problems with bleeding or bruising easily. The options for treating a shortage of platelets might include platelet transfusions or treatment with certain growth factor drugs. If bleeding is not helped by these treatments, another option might be treatment with a drug called an antifibrinolytic agent, such as aminocaproic acid (Amicar).
For more information about platelet transfusions, see Blood Transfusion and Donation.
Patients with low white blood cell counts are more likely to get infections, and the infections are more likely to be serious. It's important to avoid cuts and scrapes, and take care of them right away if they do happen. Patients should tell their doctors right away about any possible signs of infection, such as fever, signs of pneumonia (cough, shortness of breath), or urinary tract infection (burning when urinating).
Doctors typically treat known or suspected bacterial infections with antibiotics. For serious infections, a white blood cell growth factor may also be used. This drug can raise the white blood cell count to help fight the infection.
See Infections in People With Cancer for more detailed information about infections and how to lower your risk.
To learn more about how palliative care can be used to help control or reduce symptoms caused by cancer, see Palliative Care.
To learn about some of the side effects of cancer or treatment and how to manage them, see Managing Cancer-related Side Effects.
The American Cancer Society medical and editorial content team
Our team is made up of doctors and oncology certified nurses with deep knowledge of cancer care as well as editors and translators with extensive experience in medical writing.
Estey EH, Schrier SL. Management of complications of the myelodysplastic syndromes. UpToDate. 2017. Accessed at https://www.uptodate.com/contents/ management-of-the-complications-of-the-myelodysplastic-syndromes on October 12, 2017.
National Comprehensive Cancer Network. NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology: Myelodysplastic Syndromes. V.1.2018. Accessed at www.nccn.org/professionals/physician_gls/pdf/mds.pdf on October 12, 2017.
Last Revised: April 15, 2020
American Cancer Society medical information is copyrighted material. For reprint requests, please see our Content Usage Policy.
Sign up to stay up-to-date with news, valuable information, and ways to get involved with the American Cancer Society.
If this was helpful, donate to help fund patient support services, research, and cancer content updates.