Incidence and risk factors of anemia in patients with early breast cancer treated by adjuvant chemotherapy

Abstract Background The study’s objective was to assess the predictive factors of anemia induced by chemotherapy in early breast cancer patients. Patients and methods Patients treated by adjuvant or neo-adjuvant anthracyclin-based regimens with or without taxanes between 1998 and 2006 in a French university hospital were studied. Chemotherapy included. Anemia was defined as a hemoglobin (Hb) concentration lower than 12 g/dL. Multivariate analysis by logistic regression was used to search for baseline risk factors linked to the occurrence of anemia. Results Among 378 patients, anemia was observed in 64% of cases. The occurrence of anemia was significantly related to 6 risk factors: exposure to taxanes (HR 11.5, 95% CI, 2.5–52.6), high dose of anthracyclin (epirubicin 100 mg/m²)(HR 4.3; 95% CI, 2.8–8), Hb at baseline 60 (HR 2.5; 95% CI, 1.4–5) years old (HR 2.5; 95% CI, 1.4–5) and Body Mass Index (BMI) ≤ 25 kg/m² (HR 1.7; 95% CI, 1.0–2.8). Conclusion Taking into account the following factors: type of chemotherapy, BMI, age, Hb at baseline should allow a better identification of patients at risk of anemia.