An update on twenty years of anemia management with erythropoiesis-stimulating agents in nephrology and oncology/hematology.

American Society of Clinical Oncology/American Society of Hematology clinical practice guideline update on the use of epoetin and darbepoetin in adult patients with cancer.

PURPOSE To update American Society of Clinical Oncology/American Society of Hematology recommendations for use of erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs) in patients with cancer. METHODS An Update Committee reviewed data published between January 2007 and January 2010. MEDLINE and the Cochrane Library were searched. RESULTS The literature search yielded one new individual patient data anal...

Editorial: anemia management with erythropoiesis-stimulating agents: a risk-benefit update.

Effects of Iron Supplementation on Erythropoietic Response in Patients with Cancer-Associated Anemia Treated by Means of Erythropoietic Stimulating Agents

During the past decade, intravenous iron supplementation to ESA (erythropoiesis-stimulating agent) therapy has emerged as an option to augment hemoglobin response in anemic cancer patients. In this paper, the results of seven published randomized clinical trials assessing the role of iron supplementation to ESA therapy in the hematology/oncology setting will be discussed. The pathogenetic mecha...

Lost without directions: lessons from the anemia debate and the drive study.

Growing concerns related to the potential hazards of erythropoiesis stimulating agents have led to downward adjustment in hemoglobin targets for patients with chronic kidney disease, including patients with ESRD on dialysis. These concerns, coupled with economic pressures and shifting cost structures in dialysis funding, have prompted new strategies directed toward the optimal management of ane...

Dialysis adequacy and response to erythropoiesis-stimulating agents: what is the evidence base?

Despite an increase in the use and average dose of erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESA) over the past 15 years, a substantial percentage of patients still do not achieve hemoglobin targets recommended by international guidelines. A clear relationship among hemoglobin or hematocrit levels, ESA dose, and increase in dialysis dose has been pointed out by a number of prospective or retrospective...