ABSTRACT
Most (but not all) SMNs fall into two broad categories with important aetiological and clinical characteristics (“Typical Clinical Presentations” section and Table 7.4 ). Depending on their previous treatment, some groups of patients may be at particularly high risk of one or both of these categories. Secondary myelodysplasia (MDS)/acute myeloid leukemia (AML) tends to occur relatively early (classically 3-5 years) after treatment with chemotherapy (typically alkylating agents or topoisomerase II inhibitors), whilst a variety of solid tumors may arise later (typically 10-15 years) after treatment with radiotherapy, sometimes in association with cytotoxic drugs such as alkylating agents or anthracyclines.
