JLE

Bulletin du Cancer

MENU

General principles of treatment of anemia in cancer patients Volume 89, issue 11, Novembre 2002

Figures

See all figures

Author
Département d'oncologie médicale, Centre Alexis-Vautrin, av. de Bourgogne, 54511 Vandœuvre-lès-Nancy Cedex.

Most of cancer patients experience anemia. It's a main cause of fatigue and it leads to a decrease of the quality of life. It may have an impact on prognostic too, mainly when radiotherapy is concerned. Apart from etiologic treatments, anemia can be treated with transfusion and/or erythropoietin. Their respective pros and cons are discussed. There are few guidelines available on this topic and an algorithm of decision is proposed.