BCL2 and myelodysplastic syndrome: In our cohort, the amount of BCL2 gene expression was significantly increased in MDS cells extracted from patients early losing response at T0 (Student’s t test, p < 0.05, 95% CI − 6.98 to − 0.05) and in non-responders at both T0, T4 and T8, as compared with healthy subjects (T0: Student’s t test, p < 0.05, 95% CI − 13.69 to − 3.76; T4: Student’s t test, p < 0.05, 95% CI − 14.2 to − 0.96; T8: Student’s t test, p < 0.05, 95% CI − 14.05 to − 1.79), whereas the increased amount in responders at T0, T4 and T8, compared with healthy subjects, never reached statistical significance (Fig. 3A).