Canadian Medical Association Journal

Drugs to combat anemia in cancer patients increase risk of death

Published in Blood Weekly, May 21st, 2009

The use of drugs to encourage red blood cell formation (erythropoiesis-stimulating agents) in cancer patients with anemia increases the risk of death and serious adverse events such as blood clots, found a new study in CMAJ.

While the relative increased risk of death was only 15-16%, because of the high mortality rates in cancer patients this increase might translate into significant numbers of people.

"These findings suggest that erythropoiesis-stimulating agents should not be routinely used as an alternative to blood transfusion in patients with chemotherapy-induced anemia unless future studies document safety and clinical benefits in this...

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Source: Blood Weekly (2009-05-21)

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