Iron Deficiency Anemia in Patients Undergoing Extracorporeal Photopheresis for Cutaneous T-Cell Lymphoma

Abstract Objective To describe the indicidence and severity of iron deficiency anemia (IDA) in patients who have received extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP) treatment of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL). Methods We performed a retrospective study during a 9-year period of patients with CTCL who were treated with ECP. ECP was performed with UVAR XTS and CELLEX (Therakos Inc). IDA was defined by a drop in hemoglobin (Hb), mean cell volume (MCV), and increased red blood cell distribution width (RDW). Results We identified a total of 36 patients; 1 patient was excluded due to severe anemia. In 35 patients, initial hemoglobin values ranged from 9.8 g per dL to 15.9 g per dL, and patients received 4 to 327 ECP treatments. In all, 28 patients showed decreases in Hb of 0.8 g per dL to 6 g per dL during treatments. Conclusion Chronic ECP led to IDA in 28 of 35 patients with CTCL. IDA occurs due to blood loss when ECP equipment does not return full blood volume to patients.