Early Procrit® Improves Quality of Life in Patients With Mild Anemia
Researchers conducting a multicenter U.S. trial have concluded that treating early mild anemia with Procrit® (epoetin alfa) during chemotherapy for hematologic malignancies improves hemoglobin (Hb) responses, quality of life (QOL) measurements and patient productivity. The details of this randomized trial were published in the October 15, 2006, issue of Cancer.
Patients in this study had non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, Hodgkin’s lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia or multiple myeloma and were scheduled to receive 4 or more months of myelosuppressive chemotherapy. All had a Hb level of 10.0 g/dL or higher. Those with an Hb level between 10 and 12 g/dl were randomly allocated to receive Procrit or observation and delayed treatment with Procrit. Other patients were randomized when the Hb level reached 12 g/dL. Patients in the delayed therapy group received Procrit only if the Hb was 9 g/dl. The following table summarizes the main findings of this trial.
Table 1: Early Procrit versus late Procrit in hematological malignancies
| Early Procrit | Late Procrit |
Number of Patients | 135 | 134 |
Hb During Chemotherapy | +1.2 g/dL | -0.2 g/dL |
Hematologic Response | 70.4% | 25.4% |
Hb <10 g/dL | 25.2% | 44.8% |
% days Hb >10 g/dL | 86.7% | 75% |
% days Hb >12 g/dL | 65.1% | 21.6% |
FACT-An (QOL) eval | +3.84 | -4.37 |
These authors also reported that there were significant correlations between Procrit treatment with resultant increases in Hb levels and beneficial QOL changes. Patients in the early Procrit group had fewer days spent in bed and fewer days of restricted activity. Early Procrit patients also were reported to have fewer nights spent in the hospital, clinic visits, calls to physicians and missed work days by patients and support persons.
These authors concluded that early intervention with Procrit was very beneficial in patients with hematological malignancy receiving myelosuppressive chemotherapy.
Comments: These data substantiate previous observations about improvement in QOL with early treatment of anemia with Procrit or Aranesp® (darbepoetin).
Reference: Straus DJ, Testa MA, Sarokhan BJ, et al. Quality-of-life and health benefits of early treatment of mild anemia. A randomized trial of epoetin in patients treated with chemotherapy for hematologic malignancies. Cancer . 2006;107:1909-1917.
Related News
Epoetin Alfa Improves Quality of Life in Patients Receiving Platinum Based Chemotherapy (03/10/2006)
Aranesp® Produces Similar Outcomes with Greater Comfort and Convenience than Epoetin Alfa in Women with Anemia and Breast Cancer (12/29/2004)
Meta-Analysis Confirms Quality of Life Improvement with Epoetin Alfa (10/14/2004)
Epoetin Improves Quality of Life of Cancer Patients (04/03/2003)
ASH and ASCO Publish Guidelines for Use of Epoetin in Patients with Cancer (9/19/2002)
© 1998-2007 OncoEd.com All Rights Reserved.
These materials may discuss uses and dosages for therapeutic products that have not been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration. All readers should verify all information and data before administering any drug, therapy or treatment discussed herein. Neither the editors nor the publisher accepts any responsibility for the accuracy of the information or consequences from the use or misuse of the information contained herein.
Patient Home
