Efficacy of Darbepoetin Alfa in the Treatment of Chemotherapy-Induced Anemia in Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma.

BACKGROUND

Patients receiving chemotherapy often experience chemotherapy-induced anemia, which contributes to a significant reduction in their quality of life. This exploratory analysis assessed the efficacy, dosing, and safety of darbepoetin alfa administered every 2 weeks to a subset of patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and chemotherapy-induced anemia who were enrolled in 2 large, multicenter, open-label, community-based studies: the Successful Outcomes in Anemia Research (SOAR) trial and the Study to Understand and Reduce Patients' Anemia Symptom Severity (SURPASS).

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Eligible patients were receiving multicycle chemotherapy and were anemic, with hemoglobin levels </= 11 g/dL. Patients received darbepoetin alfa 3 squareg/kg every 2 weeks (SOAR; n = 114) or 200 squareg every 2 weeks (SURPASS; n = 165). Hemoglobin levels were measured every 2 weeks, and quality of life assessments were recorded at baseline and the end of the study using the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Fatigue (FACT-F) scale. This analysis includes patients who received >/= 1 dose of darbepoetin alfa.

RESULTS

By week 17, 77% of patients in SOAR (95% confidence interval, 68%-84%) and 82% of patients in SURPASS (95% confidence interval, 76%-88%) exhibited the target hemoglobin range (11-13 g/dL). Both every-2-week dosing regimens reduced the percentage of patients who required >/= 1 red blood cell transfusion by 2.5-fold during each study. Increases in hemoglobin levels were associated with improvements in FACT-F, with similar mean changes in FACT-F scores in both studies: 6.2 points for SOAR and 6.1 points for SURPASS.

CONCLUSION

Darbepoetin alfa administered every 2 weeks in patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and chemotherapy-induced anemia appeared equally effective and well tolerated when given as a weight-based or a fixed dose.