OBJECTIVETo evaluate the clinical efficacy of treating myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) by hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) combined with Chinese medical syndrome typing.

METHODSFrom July 2009 to July 2013, 6 MDS patients were treated with allo-HSCT combined with Chinese medical syndrome typing from HLA-identical sibling donors at Department of Hematology, Zhejiang Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine. Patients were classified as refractory anemia (RA, 2 cases), refractory anemia with ringed sideroblast (RARS, 1 case), refractory cytopenia with multilineage dysplasia (RCMD, 2 cases), and RA with excess blasts-I (RAEB-I , 1 case). Modified BuCy conditioning regimen was used in all 6 cases. Two patients received bone marrow transplantation (BMT), 1 patient received peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (PBSCT), and 3 patients received BMT + PBSCT. In order to prevent the occurrence of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), all patients were treated with cyclosporine + methotrexate + mycophenolate mofetil. Different Chinese medical treatment methods (by syndrome typing) were given to patients according to different criticality of international prognostic scoring system (IPSS, 5 at moderate risk and 1 at high risk).

RESULTSAll 6 patients successfully reconstructed their hematopoietic system. The time from transplantation to ANC ≥ 0.5 x 10(9)/L and platelet (PLT) ≥ 20 x10(9)/L were 13 (9-15) days and 11 (9-22) days respectively. Main complications were GVHD. Acute GVHD (aGVHD) occurred in 4 cases, 3 cases of grade I and 1 case of grade II, and local chronic GVHD (cGVHD) occurred in 1 patient. All cases survived with median follow-up of 18 (11-58) months. The overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) rate were 100%.

CONCLUSIONSHSCT combined with Chinese medical syndrome typing could improve clinical symptoms, reduce transplant as- sociated complications. So it was an effective treatment choice for MDS.