The Predictive Value of Serum Erythropoietin Levels Measured at Diagnosis in Patients With Myelodysplastic Syndromes

Objectives : To study the predictive and prognostic values of serum erythropoietin levels (sEPO) measured at diagnosis in lower‐risk myelodysplastic syndromes. Methods : We analyzed clinical associations and prognosis with sEPO in 672/1610 patients with at least one year of follow‐up data in the prospective EUMDS study. Results : sEPO levels increase with WHO subtypes associated with erythroid hypoplasia and poorer risk IPSS‐R scores. sEPO is an independent predictor of transfusion free survival and levels < 200 IU/L predict response to ESA. sEPO is not an independent predictor of overall survival. Conclusions : sEPO predicts transfusion free survival and response to ESA. Trial Registration : The EUMDS Registry (ClinicalTrials.gov: Identifier NCT00600860).