THERAPEUTICS
Review: erythropoiesis-stimulating agents increase mortality and venous thromboembolism in cancer-associated anaemia
| The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below. |
C L Bennett
Dr C L Bennett, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA; cbenne@northwestern.edu
QUESTION
In patients with cancer-associated anaemia, do erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs) increase mortality and venous thromboembolism (VTE)?
REVIEW SCOPE
Included studies evaluated ESAs (erythropoietin and darbepoetin) in patients with cancer and anaemia. Outcomes were mortality and VTE.
REVIEW METHODS
Medline and EMBASE/Excerpta Medica (Apr 2005 to Jan 2008); a previous Cochrane review* (studies published between 1985 and Apr 2005); websites of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) (Oncologic Drug Advisory Committee 2007 meeting) and ESA manufacturers; and reports by health authorities and at national conferences were searched for phase 3 trials. 54 trials met the selection criteria: 51 reported survival (n = 13 611); 38 reported VTE (n = 8172). 43 trials evaluated epoetin-
or β (n = 9033), and 11 evaluated darbepoetin (n = 4733). Duration of treatment ranged from 6 to 52 weeks.
MAIN RESULTS
Meta-analysis showed that
Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska, USA
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