Seventy percent of patients with hematologic malignancies experience anemia either as a result of cancer or chemotherapy treatments, according to speaker David J. Straus, MD, attending physician, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York, United States.

Current clinical practice guidelines suggest that patients with cancer- or chemotherapy-related anemia should be treated with epoetins -- epoetin alfa and darbepoetin alfa -- Dr. Straus reported. However, he pointed out, 47% of patients with hematologic malignancies actually receive treatment for anemia and when they do, treatment is administered when hemoglobin levels are lower than those recommended by the American Society of Hematology/American Society of Clinical Oncology.

Citing several randomized studies, Dr. Straus emphasized the effectiveness of epoetins in treating these patients. "Epoetins significantly increased hemoglobin [levels] and improved the quality of life in patients with chemo-related anemia," he stated.

One additional benefit is the reduction in the number of transfusions that patients are required to undergo. A review of retrospective analyses points to the benefit of early intervention since patients with improved hemoglobin usually report improvements in quality of life.

Although Dr. Straus maintained that epoetin alfa and darbepoetin alfa benefit patients with anemia, he stressed that no data are available yet from randomized trials powered to show equivalence between the two treatments.


[Presentation title: Comparative Studies on Erythropoeitic Agents.]

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