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

The R.W. Johnson Pharmaceutical Research Institute, Raritan, New Jersey, USA

Correspondence: Robert I. Abels, M.D., The R.W. Johnson Pharmaceutical Research Institute, 920 Route 202, Raritan, NJ 08869-0602, USA. Telephone: 908-704-5021; Fax: 908-526-1590.

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<.05) in rHuEPO-treated patients whose hematocrit increased 6 percentage points, compared to corresponding quality-of-life changes in placebo-treated patients. rHuEPO was well tolerated compared to placebo.

The above results suggest that rHuEPO may be a useful agent to palliate the morbid consequences of the anemia that is often found in association with advanced cancer.

Key Words. Anemia • Cancer • Erythropoietin

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