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Tests and diagnosis
By Mayo Clinic staff
If abnormal numbers of blood cells have been detected in your blood, your doctor may begin with tests and procedures to rule out diseases and conditions other than myelodysplastic syndromes that have similar signs and symptoms.
In addition, your doctor may recommend tests and procedures used to diagnose myelodysplastic syndromes, such as:
- Blood tests. Your doctor may recommend blood tests to count the number of blood cells in a sample of your blood (complete blood count) and examine your blood for unusual changes in the size, shape and appearance of various blood cells (peripheral blood smear).
- Removing bone marrow for testing. During a bone marrow biopsy and aspiration, a doctor or nurse uses a thin needle to withdraw (aspirate) a small amount of liquid bone marrow, usually from a spot on the back of your hipbone. Then a small piece of bone and the enclosed marrow also is removed (biopsy). The samples are examined in a laboratory to look for abnormalities.
- Nguyen PL. The myelodysplastic syndromes. Hematology/Oncology Clinics of North America. 2009;23:675.
- Myelodysplastic syndromes treatment (PDQ) patient version. National Cancer Institute. http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/myelodysplastic/patient/allpages/print. Accessed Sept. 2, 2009.
- Vardiman JW, et al. The 2008 revision of the World Health Organization (WHO) classification of myeloid neoplasms and acute leukemia: Rationale and important changes. Blood. 2009;114:937.
- Foran JM, et al. Myelodysplastic syndromes. In: Abeloff MD, et al. Abeloff's Clinical Oncology. 4th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Churchill Livingstone; 2008:2235.
- Stone RM. How I treat patients with myelodysplastic syndromes. Blood. 2009;113:6296.
- DeAngelo DJ, et al. Myelodysplastic syndromes: Biology and treatment. In: Hoffman R, et al. Hematology: Basic Principles and Practice. 5th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Churchill Livingstone; 2009. http://www.mdconsult.com/book/player/book.do?method=display&type=aboutPage&decorator=header&eid=4-u1.0-B978-0-443-06715-0..X5001-8--TOP&isbn=978-0-443-06715-0&uniq=158945000. Accessed Aug. 26, 2009.
