Tuberc Respir Dis.  2009 Feb;66(2):104-109.

Efficacy of Darbepoetin alfa in Anemia Developed during Chemotherapy for Lung Cancer

• Ban HJ
• Chi SY
• Park CK
• Kim EY
• Kim YH
• Kim KS
• Ju JY
• Kwon YS
• Oh IJ
• Kim YI
• Lim SC
• Kim YC

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Anemia is quite common in lung cancer patients and known to decrease the quality of life. Darbepoetin alfa is an erythropoiesis-stimulating protein approved for administration to cancer patients. This study examined the efficacy and safety of darbepoetin alfa in lung cancer patients with a hemoglobin concentration <10 g/dl during chemotherapy.
METHODS
Lung cancer patients (n=178) received darbepoetin alfa at doses of 1.91 microgram/kg per week until the hemoglobin concentration increased to >10 g/dl. The efficacy and safety were measured by comparing the hemoglobin concentration and assessing the adverse events.
RESULTS
After chemotherapy, the hemoglobin concentration decreased to 9.03+/-0.64 g/dl. With the darbepoetin alfa treatment, the hemoglobin concentration increased to 10.09+/-1.17 g/dl after 4 weeks reaching a peak hemoglobin concentration of 10.45+/-1.18 g/dl. The changes in hemoglobin after 4 and 8 weeks with treatment were 1.08+/-1.24 g/dl and 1.38+/-1.59 g/dl (p<0.01). At least a 1 g/dl or more increase in hemoglobin was observed in 62.4% of patients. There were no serious adverse effects except for some mild reactions.
CONCLUSION
Darbepoetin alfa administered to lung cancer patients appears to be an effective, well-tolerated treatment for chemotherapy induced anemia.

Keyword

Darbepoetin alfa; Anemia; Lung cancer

MeSH Terms

Anemia
Erythropoietin
Hemoglobins
Humans
Lung
Lung Neoplasms
Quality of Life
Darbepoetin alfa
Erythropoietin
Hemoglobins

Figure

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  Figure 1 Change of hemoglobin concentration before and after administrations of darbepoetin alfa. Darbepoetin alfa administered every 1 week significantly increased mean hemoglobin levels in chemotherapy induced anemia. Increased hemoglobin levels after administration of darbepoetin alfa were shown over the course of the study period.

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  Figure 2 The comparison of hemoglobin concentration changes between darbepoetin alfa responders and non-responders. The hemoglobin levels were significantly different between responders and non-responders after darbepoetin alfa administration. Also non-responders at 2 weeks have no change of hemoglobin levels at 4 weeks.

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