Over the last decade, genomic investigation of such families has revealed multiple genes conferring inherited risks for MDS and/or AML as the primary malignancy, including RUNX1, ANKRD26, DDX41, ETV6, GATA2, and SRP72. As these syndromes are increasingly appreciated in even apparently de novo presentations of MDS, it is important for hematologists/oncologists to become familiar with these newly-described syndromes. This evidence concerns the gene DDX41 and myelodysplastic syndrome.