Myelodysplastic syndrome does not have traditional "stages" like other cancers. Instead, it is classified into subtypes based on how many types of blood cells are affected and how many blasts (immature cells) are found in the bone marrow. MDS is also categorized by risk level using systems like the International Prognostic Scoring System (IPSS), which assesses the likelihood of progression to acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and overall survival.