Weekly epoetin beta maintains haemoglobin levels and improves quality of life in patients with non-myeloid malignancies receiving chemotherapy.

OBJECTIVE This study was aimed at investigating the effectiveness and safety of once-weekly epoetin beta for anaemic cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. METHODS A total of 104 patients with a haemoglobin level of /=2.0 g/dL; the haemoglobin response rate. Quality of life (QOL) was assessed using the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Anaemia (FACT-An) questionnaire. RESULTS The haemoglobin response rate was 66.3% among the 98 patients (breast cancer: n = 25; malignant lymphoma: n = 21; ovarian cancer: n = 20; lung cancer: n = 15; other cancers: n = 17) assessable for a haemoglobin response. Thirty-nine patients (39.8%) required a dose escalation to 54 000 IU. At the end of the study, QOL assessable patients (n = 96) showed a mean improvement in the FACT-An total fatigue subscale score (FSS) of 0.3 points from baseline. Patients with a haemoglobin response had a mean change in the total FSS of +3.2, compared with -3.4 for patients without a haemoglobin response. No serious adverse event of epoetin beta was observed. CONCLUSIONS Epoetin beta administered at an initial dose of 36 000 IU once-weekly was well tolerated, with increased haemoglobin levels and improved QOL in anaemic cancer patients receiving myelosuppressive chemotherapy.