[About the infrequent thrombotic events during erythropoietin therapy of anemia in ovarian cancer patients treated with chemotherapy].
BACKGROUND
Thrombotic events are infrequently observed in erythropoietin treatments for the anemia in tumorous patients with chemotherapy. The manufacturers call attention to this possible side effect of all kind of such drugs.


OBJECTIVE
To estimate the amount of thrombotic events in erythropoietin administrations during epoetin treatments for ovarian cancer patients treated with antineoplastic drugs.


METHODS
275 ovarian cancer patients were treated with erythropoietin in the Gynecologic Department at the National Institute of Oncology, Budapest, in the period between 2000 and 2006: 52 of them were given epoetin-alfa, 157 of them epoetin-beta and 66 of the patients received darbepoetin-alfa. Median age of the patients was 60 (ranges 22 and 84) years.


RESULTS
Thrombotic events were detected in 3 patients out of the 275: one with epoetin-alfa and two times with epoetin-beta treatment (3/275 = 1,1%). No definite causal relationship was confirmed between the thrombotic events and the erythropoietin drugs.


CONCLUSIONS
Thrombosis was infrequently monitored among the authors' patients similarly to the literature data.
Lehoczky
Ottó
O
Országos Onkológiai Intézet Nogyógyászati Osztálya Budapest. lehoczky@oncol.hu
Pulay
Tamás
T
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000740:Anemia / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000188:drug therapy*; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects; D000068256:Darbepoetin alfa; D000068817:Epoetin Alfa; D004921:Erythropoietin / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000031:analogs & derivatives; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006814:Hungary / Q000453:epidemiology; D015994:Incidence; D008875:Middle Aged; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013927:Thrombosis / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000453:epidemiology
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; C103998:epoetin beta; D004921:Erythropoietin; D000068256:Darbepoetin alfa; D000068817:Epoetin Alfa