Mittelman M
Department of Medicine B, Rabin Medical Center, Petah Tikva, Israel.
Isr J Med Sci. 1996 Dec;32(12):1201-6.
The anemia of malignancy is common and is related to several etiologic factors, a major one being relative erythropoietin (Epo) deficiency. Blood transfusions, the traditional therapy, provides a quick solution but is associated with complications. This was the rationale for recombinant human Epo (rHuEpo) in the treatment of anemia of cancer. Over the past few years, about 20 publications have reported the results of rHuEpo in the treatment of cancer-associated anemia in more than 850 patients with a variety of malignancies. In general, more than half of the patients responded with a significant increase in their hemoglobin level, a decrease in blood transfusion requirements, and an improved performance status and quality of life. About 4 weeks are required till the onset of effect. The hormone is well tolerated with minimal adverse effects and subcutaneous injections appear to be the preferred method of administration. Additional studies will hopefully answer several questions including optimal dosage and duration of treatment, Epo resistance, and the possibility of predicting the response.
恶性肿瘤相关性贫血很常见，与多种病因相关，其中一个主要原因是促红细胞生成素（Epo）相对缺乏。输血作为传统治疗方法，能迅速解决问题，但会引发并发症。这就是重组人促红细胞生成素（rHuEpo）用于治疗癌症相关性贫血的理论依据。在过去几年中，约20篇文献报道了rHuEpo治疗850多名患有各种恶性肿瘤的癌症相关性贫血患者的结果。总体而言，超过一半的患者有反应，血红蛋白水平显著升高，输血需求减少，体能状态和生活质量得到改善。起效大约需要4周时间。该激素耐受性良好，不良反应轻微，皮下注射似乎是首选给药方式。更多研究有望回答几个问题，包括最佳剂量和治疗持续时间、Epo抵抗以及预测反应的可能性。
