Role of recombinant human erythropoietin in the treatment of cancer-related anaemia Case report
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Abstract
Anaemia is one of the most frequently diagnosed complications in cancer patients and also occurs during the course of cancer treatment. The condition can be observed in as many as 60–70% of patients who receive chemotherapy or radiotherapy. As a cancer symptom, it is found in 30% of cases and is particularly severe when accompanied by kidney failure. In patients undergoing cancer therapy, anaemia is treated with PRBC transfusions and/or recombinant human erythropoietin. The article discusses 3 case studies of patients with late-stage cancer (pleural mesothelioma, urothelial kidney carcinoma, and lung carcinoma), who suffered from moderate to severe anaemia during aggressive treatment with chemo- and radiotherapy. All 3 patients were treated with erythropoietin, which made it possible for them to stay on chemotherapy and/or undergo radiotherapy. Thanks to erythropoietin, they did not require PRBC transfusions and their general condition and quality of life improved. They tolerated the treatment well and no complications were observed.
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Copyright: © Medical Education sp. z o.o. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0). License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), allowing third parties to copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format and to remix, transform, and build upon the material, provided the original work is properly cited and states its license.
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