This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) eLetters: Submit a response to this article Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services E-mail this article link to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Reprints/Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Gascón, P. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Gascón, P.

Safety Update on Erythropoiesis-Stimulating Agents: Trials Within and Outside the Accepted Indications

Medical Oncology, Hospital Clinic, IDIBAPS, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

Key Words. Erythropoiesis-stimulating agents • ESAs • Anemia • Safety • Survival

Correspondence: Pere Gascón, M.D., Ph.D., Hospital Clinic, Division of Medical Oncology, IDIBAPS, Institut Clinic Malalties Hemato-Oncològiques (ICMHO), University of Barcelona, 08036 Barcelona, Spain. Telephone: 34-932275402; Fax: 34-934546520; e-mail: gascon{at}clinic.ub.es

Disclosure: The author has received honoraria for lecturing from Roche Pharma, Amgen, and Janssen-Cilag, manufacturers of epoetin beta, darbepoetin alfa, and epoetin alfa, respectively. No other potential conflicts of interest were reported by the author, planners, reviewers, or staff managers of this article.

Certain studies in which erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs) have been given not with the aim of correcting anemia but to achieve higher target levels of hemoglobin have shown significantly poorer survival among treated patients. However, studies in which ESAs were administered with the aim of reducing the need for RBC transfusions in patients with chemotherapy-associated anemia demonstrate that the use of these agents is not associated with any adverse effect on survival when compared with placebo controls. We can therefore be reassured that using ESAs within the labeled indications will not adversely affect patient outcome.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				B. K. Hadland and G. D. Longmore Erythroid-Stimulating Agents in Cancer Therapy: Potential Dangers and Biologic Mechanisms J. Clin. Oncol., September 1, 2009; 27(25): 4217 - 4226. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Aapro and J. L. Spivak Update on Erythropoiesis-Stimulating Agents and Clinical Trials in Oncology Oncologist, September 1, 2009; 14(suppl_1): 6 - 15. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. S. Aapro Editorial: Anemia Management with Erythropoiesis-Stimulating Agents: A Risk-Benefit Update Oncologist, May 1, 2008; 13(suppl_3): 1 - 3. [Full Text] [PDF]