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This site is intended for US audiences only.

This site is intended for US audiences only.

REVLIMID® (lenalidomide) is a prescription medicine used to treat adults with a condition called myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). REVLIMID is for the type of MDS with a chromosome problem where part of chromosome 5 is missing. This type of MDS is known as deletion 5q MDS. People with this type of MDS may have low red blood cell counts that require treatment with blood transfusions. REVLIMID should not be used to treat people who have chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) unless they are participants in a controlled clinical trial. It is not known if REVLIMID is safe and effective in children.

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What is del 5q myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS)?

Hypothetical REVLIMID® (lenalidomide) patient with deletion 5q MDS (myelodysplastic syndromes)

About del 5q myelodysplastic syndrome

Your treatment team—doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals—is your first source of information and can address many of your questions. This website was designed to help supplement your knowledge by introducing and explaining some of the key terms of your disease. It will provide information on MDS and, more specifically, on deletion 5q MDS.

Myelodysplastic syndromes, known as MDS, are a group of diseases that affect the soft tissue (marrow) in your bones. Bone marrow makes cells called stem cells. Stem cells become white blood cells (WBC), red blood cells (RBC), and platelets.

  • White blood cells (WBC) help fight infections
  • Red blood cells (RBC) carry oxygen through your body
  • Platelets help form blood clots to stop bleeding

MDS stops the stem cells from becoming blood cells and platelets. People with MDS don’t have enough healthy blood cells.

Illustration of healthy bone marrow and blood stem cells producing red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets
Illustration of healthy bone marrow and blood stem cells producing red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets

Patients with MDS have bone marrow that does not make enough mature blood cells. This means there are fewer healthy blood cells working in the body. There are different types of MDS. REVLIMID treats the type of MDS where part of chromosome 5 is missing. This type of MDS is known as deletion 5q (del 5q) MDS. Patients with this type of MDS may have low red blood cell counts that require treatment with blood transfusions. Your doctor will be able to tell if you have del 5q MDS by testing some of your bone marrow cells.

HEALTHY STEM CELL

Healthy stem cell and chromosome 5
Healthy stem cell and chromosome 5

Healthy chromosome 5

Section 5q of chromosome 5 plays a large role in making normal blood cells

ABNORMAL STEM CELL

Abnormal stem cell and chromosome 5q deletion
Abnormal stem cell and chromosome 5q deletion

Abnormal chromosome 5

In deletion of 5q MDS, the part of chromosome 5 called 5q is missing