Recombinant human erythropoietin in the treatment of cancer‐related anaemia

Abstract

The efficacy and safety of recombinant human erythropoietin (rhEPO) were tested when given subcutaneously (s.c.) in an escalating dose of 2000–10,000 units (U) daily in 60 patients with cancer‐related anaemia (CRA). A positive response, defined as an increase in haemoglobin more than 2 g/dl and independence of blood transfusions, was observed in 23 of 48 evaluable patients (48%) within a median of 8 wk. In detail, rhEPO corrected anaemia in 11 of 14 patients (79%) with malignant lymphoma, in 8 of 15 patients (53%) with multiple myeloma and in 4 of 10 patients (40%) with a solid tumour. The median dose of rhEPO in successful cases was 5000 U daily. Four patients with agnogenic myeloid metaplasia and 5 with myelodysplastic disorder failed to respond to rhEPO. No patient had any severe side effects. Pretreatment serum erythropoietin levels appeared to be a weak predictor for response to rhEPO treatment. In conclusion, rhEPO seems to be safe and effective in correcting CRA in certain groups of patients.

Expression of Human Erythropoietin Containing 2 Additional N-Link in CHO-K1 Cells under Different Culture Conditions

“…Precedent study Egrie, et al (2001) had demonstrated that the expansion of sialic acid content of EPO with the integration of 2-N linked can increase serum half-life and biological activity. Insufficiency of EPO becomes one of the main causes of cancer anemia, this makes the use of recombinant therapeutic protein EPO becomes one of the solutions (Kasper, et al, 1997). Present study shows that EPO is very beneficial to alleviate cancer-associated malignant anemia and can improve survival outcomes for patients with cancer (Zhao, et al, 2017).…”

Intravenous Iron Therapy: A Summary of Treatment Options and Review of Guidelines

“…On the other hand, several other studies failed to show a role for serum ferritin in predicting response to ESAs or in identifying functional iron deficiency in patients with cancer-related anemia. [57][58][59] The results from one clinical trial suggest that although it may be reasonable to assume that oncology patients being treated with ESAs with serum ferritin levels below 300 ng/mL can safely be treated with IV iron therapy, studies that have enrolled patients with serum ferritin levels 800 ng/mL have not adequately assessed the long-term risks associated with IV iron repletion. 14,27,29,30 Further well-designed, randomized controlled trials assessing long-term risks associated with IV iron therapy are needed.…”

ecancermedicalscience

“…Symptomatic anaemia requiring transfusional support was one of the most relevant toxicities observed in the first 14 patients. Darbopoietin effectively reduced transfusional support, demonstrating the efficacy of this strategy [14]. However, thromboembolic events occurred in three patients: all had received darbopoietin, two patients also combined with oral contraceptives.…”