OncoLink en espanõl
Share
Cancer Resources > Cancer News > Cancer News from Reuters > Reuters Cancer News > 2006 > November
Early treatment of chemo-related anemia improves quality of life
Last Updated: 2006-11-09 16:29:54 -0400 (Reuters Health)
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Patients with hematologic malignancies have a better sense of well-being and less fatigue if they receive epoetin alfa before chemotherapy starts.
The key to epoetin alfa efficacy, oncologists emphasize, is giving the epoetin immediately, without waiting for hemoglobin levels to drop.
In a study published in the October 15th issue of Cancer, Dr. David J. Straus of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York and colleagues enrolled 269 patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, Hodgkin's lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia or multiple myeloma with baseline hemoglobin of 10-12 g/dL or lower. Patients were scheduled to receive a minimum of 4 months of myelosuppressive chemotherapy.
Patients were randomized to epoetin alfa 40,000 U weekly for up to 16 weeks, beginning immediately or after hemoglobin levels dropped to 9 g/dL or lower.
Functional Assessment of Cancer Treatment-Anemia (FACT-An) scores were assessed before and after the 4-month course of chemotherapy.
Dr. Straus' team reports that immediate epoetin alfa treatment "demonstrated a consistent and meaningful quality of life advantage for treating mild anemia earlier during chemotherapy."
Immediately treated patients had significant increases in hemoglobin and "weakly" corresponding improvements in fatigue and physical functioning.
Most measures on the scale were rated as positively affected in the early-treatment group, and most were negative in the late-treatment group.
The researchers conclude that the findings support the early use of epoetin alfa in chemotherapy patients with mild anemia.
Cancer 2006;107:1909-1917.
Copyright © 2009 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.