Increasing Hemoglobin Levels with Epoetin Alfa in Anemic Hematologic Cancer Patients Receiving Chemotherapy Correlates Significantly with Improved Quality of Life
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Media type:
E-Article
Title:
Increasing Hemoglobin Levels with Epoetin Alfa in Anemic Hematologic Cancer Patients Receiving Chemotherapy Correlates Significantly with Improved Quality of Life
Description:
Abstract The majority of patients (pts) with hematologic malignancies (HM) are anemic and often have poor performance scores (Ludwig H et al. Blood.2002;100:234a). The correlation between increases in hemoglobin (Hb) with epoetin alfa and improvements in quality of life (QOL) was evaluated in this open-label, multicenter study that enrolled 736 adult pts with various solid tumors and HM (n = 122) who were receiving cytotoxic chemotherapy and had Hb levels <12 g/dL. Epoetin alfa was administered 150 IU/kg or 10,000 IU 3 times weekly (TIW) for a maximum 28 weeks (wks); dose was increased to 300 IU/kg or 20,000 IU TIW if Hb was not increased >1 g/dL above baseline within 4 wks. Results for pts with HM are compared to results from a similar 16-wk trial that included pts with HM (n = 488) and used the 40,000 IU once-weekly (QW) dose, increased to 60,000 IU QW if Hb did not increase ≥1 g/dL within 4 wks (Gabrilove J et al. Int J Hematol.2000;72:55). In the TIW study, the primary efficacy endpoint was change in QOL as measured by the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General (FACT-G), including subscales for anemia (FACT-An) and fatigue; the FACT was administered at study entry, at 8–9 wks, and at 12 wks. QOL was additionally measured by the Cancer Linear Analog Scale (CLAS; also known as the Linear Analog Scale Assessment [LASA]) administered at every study visit. Dose increases were similar in both studies (33.6% of pts in the TIW study; 36.7% of pts in the QW study). In the TIW study, mean baseline Hb was 9.6 g/dL; mean Hb increased at 4–6 wks (1.35 g/dL), 8–9 wks (2.09 g/dL) and 12 wks (2.46 g/dL) to a mean Hb of 12.0 g/dL. Almost half the HM patients in the TIW study (48.1%) had a complete response (Hb increase ≥2 g/dL without blood transfusion). Hematologic results are similar to those reported in the QW study where mean Hb increased 1.96 g/dL by end of study (P = .0001). QOL improvements were also similar between studies. Mean FACT-An scores for the total population in the TIW study increased 6.7 points after 12 wks, which is clinically significant (Patrick DL et al. Eur J Cancer.2003;39:335–345). The mean increase for overall FACT-G correlated significantly with increased Hb at 12 wks (P <.0001; r = .262). Mean CLAS scores for the total population increased steadily throughout the study. At 12 wks mean increases (based on the 100-mm scale) were clinically significant (Patrick et al): 10.9 mm for Energy, 11.2 mm for Daily Activity, and 10.3 mm for Overall QOL. Mean change for FACT-An for patients from the total population in the QW study (n = 2,230) was 6.0 points (P <.001), which is comparable to the mean changes in the TIW study and the HM population of the QW study (6.59 points, P <.0001). No unexpected adverse events were reported. Epoetin alfa TIW or QW was shown to steadily increase Hb, which significantly correlated with clinically significant improvements in QOL.