SERUM ERYTHROPOIETIN INCREASE IN PATIENTS RECEIVING ADJUVANT THERAPY WITH 5-FLUOROURACIL AND LEUCOVORIN

High-dose anticancer drugs have been shown to induce an increase in se rum erythropoietin (sEpo) levels not mediated by hypoxia. In this stud y, sEpo was assessed in seven patients who had been administered a cou rse of 5-day leucovorin-modulated 5-fluorouracil (5-FU-LV) as an adjuv ant therapy after the removal of colon cancer. During this study, the mean hemoglobin (Hb) concentration stayed at a constant level, periphe ral blood (PB) reticulocytes showed an early, sharp decline, and sEpo levels progressively increased for 15 days after the start of chemothe rapy. These results appear to indicate that the increase in sEpo, whic h was not related to anemia, may have followed from the administration of a cytotoxic drug at doses used in routine, clinical practice.