This CME monograph on myeloid malignancies is an outgrowth of a meeting held in Chicago in June 2007 entitled, Myeloid and Lymphoid Malignancies: A Look to the Future. This title has a dual significance insofar as the meeting was a look to the future in 2 ways. The presenting faculty members were all oncology fellows who are outstanding representatives of their chosen fields. As such, they will become future thought leaders and opinion makers of tomorrow. The other forward-looking aspect of the meeting was the topics and ensuing discussion: they have implications for the future treatment of these diseases. The fresh perspectives provided by these keen young doctors shed new light on critical issues associated with the management of hematologic malignancies both now and in the future.

Hematologic malignancies have considerable impact on many individuals. Approximately 218,659 people in the United States are either living with leukemia or are in remission from it.¹ Approximately 44,240 new cases are diagnosed in the US each year, of which 13,410 are acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and 4,570 are chronic myeloid leukemia (CML).² In addition, 14,000 people are diagnosed each year with myelodysplastic syndromes.² 9,480 Americans will have died from AML and CML in 2007.²

The lymphoid and myeloid malignancies are quite distinct, as the case studies in each monograph will demonstrate, and vary significantly in their causes and natural progression. The oncology fellows who presented these cases work with prominent hematologists at major medical or cancer centers. Their mentors critiqued these presentations in person at the meeting and in manuscript form prior to publication. Their guidance and influence have been crucial to the development of these young doctors. The mentors are: Martin S. Tallman, MD, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine; Dan Douer, MD, University of Southern California; and Richard Silver, MD, Weill Medical College of Cornell University.

The cases were chosen to be instructive, either because they were typical presentations of the disease or they presented particular issues that required special consideration. The case studies on the myeloid malignancies – acute myeloid leukemia, myelodysplastic syndromes, and chronic myeloid leukemia – are presented here. The lymphoid malignancies are covered in a companion monograph.