Curse and blessing:upregulation of oncogenes upon treatment with hypomethylating agents in myelodysplastic syndrome

In a recently published study in The New England Journal of Medicine,Liu and colleagues were able to demonstrate that-apart from the antileukemic effects previously reported for hypomethylating agents(HMAs)-treatment with these drugs can also lead to demethylation and subsequent upregulation of oncogenes resulting in shorter survival in patients with myelo-dysplastic syndrome(MDS).