Single dose darbepoetin alfa is useful in reducing red cell transfusions in leukemic children receiving chemotherapy.
The role of erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs) in the management of chemotherapy-induced anemia (CIA) is becoming increasingly recognized in the field of medical oncology, with paucity of data in pediatrics. We evaluated the efficacy and tolerability of a single-dose darbepoetin alfa, a long-acting ESA, given to 35 pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) children during induction chemotherapy. Compared to a retrospective control group, the studied patients have required significantly less units of packed red blood cells (0.88 units/patient in the studied group versus 2.04 units in controls), with no major side effects. We recommend further prospective double-blinded studies with more tailored dosing regimens in pediatric ALL cases and solid tumors.
['Zachariah|Mathew|M|', 'Elshinawy|Mohamed|M|', 'Alrawas|Abdulhakim|A|', 'Bashir|Wafa|W|', 'Elbeshlawi|Ismail|I|', 'Tony|Surekha|S|', 'Wali|Yasser|Y|']
D002648:Child D002675:Child, Preschool D000068256:Darbepoetin alfa D017707:Erythrocyte Transfusion D004921:Erythropoietin D005260:Female D006397:Hematinics D006801:Humans D008297:Male D054198:Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma
darbepoetin alfa chemotherapy anemia leukemia