Cancer-Anemia Balancing Act
Reported May 05, 2009
(Ivanhoe Newswire) Cancer patients find themselves in a sort of catch-22 situation when it comes to treating the anemia common in people with the disease.
While drugs called erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs) can cut down on the need for blood transfusions and improve quality of life, they have also been associated with serious adverse events like heart attacks and strokes and may even promote tumor growth.
Now a new study out of Germany is quantifying the problem. Researchers there pooled data from 53 previous studies involving nearly 14,000 cancer patients, finding a relative increase in mortality of 17 percent among those taking ESAs. Among patients currently on chemotherapy, the increase was 10 percent.
The findings of this individual patient data meta-analysis show that erythropoiesis-stimulating agents increase mortality in all patients with cancer, and a similar increase might exist in patients on chemotherapy, write the authors.
They believe doctors should prescribe these drugs only on a case-by-case basis. In clinical practice, the increased risks of death and thromboembolic events should be balanced against the benefits of treatment with erythropoiesis-stimulating agents, taking into account each patients clinical circumstances and preferences.
SOURCE: The Lancet, published online April 30, 2009