Comparison of genetic and clinical aspects in patients with acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndromes all with more than 50% of bone marrow erythropoietic cells.

The World Health Organization separates acute erythroid leukemia (erythropoiesis in ?50% of nucleated bone marrow cells; ?20% myeloblasts of non-erythroid cells) from other entities with increased erythropoiesis - acute myeloid leukemia with myelodysplasia-related changes (?20% myeloblasts of all nucleated cells) or myelodysplastic syndromes - and subdivides acute erythroid leukemia into erythroleukemia and pure erythroid leukemia subtypes. We aimed to investigate the biological/genetic justification for the different categories of myeloid malignancies with increased erythropoiesis (?50% of bone marrow cells).