[Study on serum erythropoietin levels in patients with hematologic malignancies].
OBJECTIVE
To study whether hematologic malignancy patients with anemia have a lower erythropoietin (EPO) response.


METHODS
Serum EPO levels were detected by ELISA in patients with hematologic malignancies and with iron deficiency anemia (IDA). Eighty patients with hematologic malignancies, including 13 multiple myeloma (MM), 7 chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and 60 non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) were studied. Thirty of them had anemia(21 NHL,6 MM and 3 CLL). Twenty patients with IDA were studied as the control.


RESULTS
Hematologic malignancy patients with anemia had higher EPO levels [(97.8 +/- 183.9) IU/L] than those with normal Hb values [(27.8 +/- 85.4) IU/L; P <0.01]. In patients with IDA, serum EPO response was inversely correlated with Hb level (r= -0.5, P <0.05) , but no such inverse correlation was found in the hematologic malignancy patients with anemia (r = -0.14). After corrected for Hb level, the serum EPO levels were significantly lower in anemic patients with hematologic malignancies than in IDA patients (P = 0.032) , indicating a decreased EPO response in the former group.


CONCLUSIONS
Anemia associated with hematologic malignancy might result from an inappropriately low EPO response. EPO treatment for these patients may be beneficial.
Han
Bing
B
Department of Hematology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Beijing, China.
Shi
Yuan-kai
YK
Zhu
Jun
J
He
Xiao-hui
XH
Lin
Ning-jing
NJ
Li
Shu-lan
SL
Shen
Ti
T
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D018798:Anemia, Iron-Deficiency / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D004921:Erythropoietin / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D019337:Hematologic Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications; D006454:Hemoglobins / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies
D006454:Hemoglobins; D004921:Erythropoietin