These mutations can be heterozygous, homozygous, and hemizygous and although they are not well characterized, it seems that they have been associated with short survival in patients with -7/del17q (82).The fact that SF3B1 mutations delineate a distinct type of MDS imply that the effects of RNA splicing factors mutations on mis-spliced target genes may open a whole new field for research. This evidence concerns the gene SF3B1 and myelodysplastic syndrome.