Cancer-related anaemia is undertreated
Cancer-related anaemia is seriously undertreated, with less than one-third of anaemic patients receiving treatment, according to a study presented at the European
Cancer Conference in Paris earlier this month.
The European Cancer Anaemia Study included more than 15,000 cancer patients,
who were not receiving chemotherapy at the time of enrolment. Results
show that 32 per cent were anaemic — 24 per cent had haemoglobin
(Hb) levels between 10.0 and 11.9g/dL and 8 per cent had Hb levels lower
than 10.0g/dL. However, only 31 per cent of these received any treatment
for anaemia.
Most anaemia was seen in patients with persistent or recurrent disease
(38 per cent); 30 per cent of newly diagnosed patients and 25 per cent
of patients in remission were also anaemic. Poor performance scores correlated
positively with lower haemoglobin levels.
A survey of 250 patients with cancer from five European countries also
showed that more than half of those with cancer-related anaemia were
not receiving recommended therapy.
Overall results showed that 58 per cent of patients with anaemia were
not receiving erythropoietin, the treatment recommended by the European
standards for anaemia care. In the UK, 63 per cent of patients reported
receiving no treatment of any kind for extreme fatigue or anaemia and
only 5 per cent were treated with erythropoietin — much lower than
in other countries.
Paul Corns, consultant oncologist, Bristol Haematology and Oncology Centre,
warned: “Anaemia is greatly underdiagnosed and undertreated in
patients with cancer, even though its treatment could dramatically improve
quality of life and functional capacity.” He considered that the
problem was similar to that seen 10 years ago with nausea and vomiting
associated with cancer treatment. That used to be considered inevitable
but is now treated routinely. |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal
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