ANEMIA OF CANCER

Cancer patients frequently develop anemia, due either to the cancer it self or to the effects of cancer-related therapy. Recent years have br ought insights into both the pathogenesis of the anemia of cancer and the extent to which erythropoietin regulation participates in this pro cess. Although transfusion therapy was the mainstay of therapy for sym ptomatic anemia in the Fast, clinical trials have demonstrated that re combinant human erythropoietin can alleviate both anemia and transfusi on requirements in many cancer patients and may prove to have an impor tant role in the treatment of cancer-related anemia in the future.