Is recombinant human erythropoietin (rh-epo) more than just a treatment of anemia in cancer and chemotherapy?
Recombinant human eythropoietin (rh-epo) is a well established treatment for many kinds of anemia including the anemia of cancer with or without myelosuppressive chemotherapy. This review considers the effects of rh-epo in humans, tumour-bearing and healthy experimental animals treated with cisplatin with or without rh-epo, and proposes that the ability of rh-epo to improve the quality of life in cancer patients may also be due to interference with the prostaglandin pathways.
Taylor
S K
SK
Department of Anaesthesiology, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany. sakitaylor@ aol.com
D000740:Anemia / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology; D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects; D002945:Cisplatin / Q000009:adverse effects; D004921:Erythropoietin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000150:complications; D011453:Prostaglandins / Q000378:metabolism; D011788:Quality of Life; D051381:Rats; D011994:Recombinant Proteins
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D011453:Prostaglandins; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D004921:Erythropoietin; D002945:Cisplatin