New Jersey-based physician Kenneth D. Nahum, DO, practices hematology and oncology for Regional Cancer Care Associates, LLC. In this capacity, he leverages more than three decades of experience in the field to treat patients with a range of cancers and blood disorders. In addition to his clinical work, Dr. Kenneth D. Nahum studies such conditions as myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS).

1. Three Subtypes of
Myelodysplastic
Syndromes
Kenneth D. Nahum

2. Introduction
• New Jersey-based physician Kenneth D. Nahum, DO, practices hematology and
oncology for Regional Cancer Care Associates, LLC. In this capacity, he leverages
more than three decades of experience in the field to treat patients with a range
of cancers and blood disorders. In addition to his clinical work, Dr. Kenneth D.
Nahum studies such conditions as myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS).
A group of diseases, MDS conditions affect the bone marrow. Rather than
producing healthy blood cells, the bone marrow in MDS patients produces far too
many immature blood cells, thus resulting in low blood counts and other blood-
related conditions. Below are several subtypes of MDS:
- Refractory anemia (RA).When a person has healthy levels of platelets and
white blood cells, paired with a low amount of red blood cells, they may be
diagnosed with RA.The condition results in anemia and is characterized by fewer
than 5 percent of immature blood cells, or blasts, in the bone marrow.

3. Myelodysplastic Syndromes
• - Refractory cytopenia with multilineage dysplasia (RCMD). Patients
with RCMD have fewer than 5 percent of blasts and 15 percent of
ringed sideroblasts, a type of red blood cell, in the bone marrow.
Alongside these traits, patients have bone marrow cells that look
abnormal. Since RCMD affects multiple types of blood cells, patients
with this condition have low levels of at least two types of blood cells.
- Refractory anemia with ringed sideroblasts (RARS). Similar to
people with RA, individuals with RARS have anemia and normal
platelet and white blood cell counts. Of the red blood cells that are
present, at least 15 percent of them are sideroblasts.These cells have
a ring of iron around the nucleus.