MDS and GCA: a prognostic dilemma.

A number of autoimmune disorders, such as large vessel vasculitis, have been recognized in patients who have myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and myeloproliferative syndrome (MPS). The influence of an autoimmune disorder on the prognosis of patients who have MDS and MPS remains to be determined. We report three cases of myelodysplastic syndrome and large vessel vasculitis seen at our institution and provide a brief literature review of the two disease processes. More studies are needed to determine the pathophysiology of the underlying diseases and whether there truly is a relationship between the disease entities and to discover better markers for disease assessment.