Prof Valeria Santini talks about the results of her research on the use of comorbidity indexes to determine prognosis for elderly myelodysplastic syndrome patients treated with azacitidine. This trial found that elderly patients with comorbidities can be treated successfully with azacitidine without any substantial increase in adverse effects, however, the level of comorbidities did have a negative influence on overall survival. Prof Santini goes on to discuss the key topics that will be covered at the haematological ecancer conference, Rome 18-20th March 2011.