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Darbepoetin, Epoetin Both Efficacious in Radiotherapy/Chemotherapy-Induced Anemia: Presented at ASTRO

By Ed Susman

DENVER, CO -- October 24, 2005 -- Researchers say the newer anti-anemia drug darbepoetin acts similarly as epoetin alfa to combat chemotherapy/radiotherapy induced anemia in cancer patients.

Pilar Samper, MD, Radiation Oncologist, Hospital Central de la Defensa, Madrid, Spain, and colleagues performed a prospective study to compare the efficacy of darbepoetin 150 mcg/week to 40,000 IU/week of epoetin alfa.

The two previous retrospective studies that Dr. Samper was able to find in the medical literature found that both agents were clinically comparable. "In our prospective study, we observed that the two treatments have a similar efficacy," she said during a poster presentation here on October 18^th at the 47^th annual meeting of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO).

Anemia occurs frequently among cancer patients and is present in as many as 30 % to 90% of these individuals, Dr. Samper noted. Anemia is caused by the disease itself and by treatments for cancer, including radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

To test the two drugs, the researchers performed a prospective study between March 2003 and March 2004 that including 125 consecutive patients with anemia. They defined anemia as hemoglobin levels <13 g/dL in males or <12 g/dL in females while receiving treatment with radiotherapy or radiochemotherapy in their department.

The researchers assigned 62 patients to receive darbepoetin and 63 to receive epoetin alfa. Both groups were given supplemental iron.

At the start of the trial, patients receiving darbepoetin had a hemoglobin level of 11.85 g/dL; the epoetin alfa group had an average hemoglobin level of 11.76 g/dL. After 4 weeks, the mean hemoglobin level had risen to 13.16 g/dL in the darbepoetin patients and 13.02 in the epoetin alfa patients. The difference was not statistically significant, Dr. Samper said. The levels were similar after each week.

When Dr. Samper compared the groups, she found that 64.5% of patients on darbepoetin and 47.6% on epoetin alfa reached a hemoglobin increase of 1 g/dL or greater at 4 weeks -- not a statistically significant difference.

Two patients in each group required transfusions, Dr. Samper said.

None of the parameters studied showed any significant difference, the researchers said.


[Presentation title: Darbepoetin Alfa Versus Epoetin Alfa for the Correction of Anemia in Cancer Patients Receiving either Radiotherapy or Chemoradiotherapy Treatment. Abstract 2420]

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