Recombinant Human Erythropoietin (rHuEPO) for the Treatment of the Anemia of Cancer

Advanced cancer is frequently associated with a significant anemia that may be due to the disease itself or the effect of concomitantly administered chemotherapeutic agents. In a series of double‐blind, placebo‐controlled trials, three populations of anemic cancer patients were randomized to rHuEPO or placebo. The three populations were: A) patients not receiving concomitant chemotherapy, B) patients receiving chemotherapeutic regimens which did not contain cisplatin, and C) patients receiving chemotherapeutic regimens which contained cisplatin. In the no‐chemotherapy trials, patients were treated with rHuEPO (100 U/kg) or placebo s.c. three times a week for up to eight weeks. In the two types of chemotherapy trials, patients were treated with rHuEPO (150 U/kg) or placebo SC three times a week for 12 weeks. A total of 413 patients were enrolled in these trials (124 in the no‐chemotherapy group, 157 in the no‐cisplatin chemotherapy group and 132 in the cisplatin chemotherapy group). In each trial, patients randomized to rHuEPO had a significantly greater (p < .004) increase in hematocrit than placebo‐treated patients. In the two types of chemotherapy trials combined, utilizing an rHuEPO dose of 150 U/kg, rHuEPO‐treated patients had significantly lower (p ≤ .009) transfusion requirements (percentage of patients transfused and mean units of blood transfused per patient) than placebo‐treated patients during months two and three, but not during month one. Quality‐of‐life parameters measured on a 100 mm visual analog scale significantly improved (p