Cancer Trends - Myeloproliferative Neoplasms and Myelodysplastic Syndromes

The Registry is please to announce the publication of its latest cancer trends report. The report provides an overview of the incidence, treatment and survival for myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN) and myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) in Ireland. These are haematological malignancies that largely comprise conditions that, until quite recently, were not considered full malignancies but that are now recognised as such. On average, 153 cases of MPN were diagnosed per year in Ireland during 1994-2012, or 124 cases if chronic myeloid leukaemias (CML) are excluded. The most common subtypes of MPN were chronic myeloproliferative disease of unspecified type, polycythaemia vera, essential thrombocythaemia and CML. MDS cases (mainly unspecified subtype and refractory anaemias) averaged 112 per year over the same period. Trends in MPN are unclear (some increase but not significant overall), while MDS showed a significant increase between 1994 and 2012. Five-year net survival was high for MPN (average 79% for cases diagnosed 2006-2011) but was much poorer for MDS (55% for 2006-2011). However, survival for both groups has improved in recent years.