title: Treatment of cancer-associated anaemia: results from a two-day cross-sectional survey in Germany.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The aim was to re-evaluate the current prevalence and management of cancer-associated anaemia as defined by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and related risk factors.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a prospective, 2-day web-based cross-sectional survey in cancer patients with non-myeloid malignancies in German outpatient clinics.
  
  
  RESULTS
  89 centres collected data from 3,867 patients, of whom 74% received active cancer therapy. The median age was 65 years (range 19-99 years) and almost two-thirds were women; 68% of the patients had solid tumours (breast 34%, colorectal 17%, lung 8%), with 56% of them being metastatic; 73% had a WHO performance score of ≤ 1. The mean haemoglobin level was 12.0 ± 1.7 g/dl (± standard deviation; range 4.3-17.8 g/dl); the prevalence of levels below 12.0 g/dl was 49%. Two-thirds of these patients were not treated for anaemia; one-third received erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (12.6%), iron therapy (8.1%), transfusions (7.5%) or combinations thereof (8.0%) during the 4 weeks before evaluation. Chemotherapy, female sex, age and poor performance status were identified as significant anaemia-associated factors.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The prevalence of untreated anaemia and the decreased performance status of cancer patients in Germany have hardly changed since the European Cancer Anaemia Survey (ECAS) in 2001. The treatment practice may not only be driven by guidelines and does not yet reflect new concepts of anaemia management.
authors.affiliation: Klinik für Innere Medizin 1, Westpfalz-Klinikum, Kaiserslautern, Germany. hlink@rhrk.uni-kl.de
authors.forename: Hartmut
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Link
authors.forename: Stephan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Schmitz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000553:Ambulatory Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000740:Anemia / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy*; D015984:Causality; D015897:Comorbidity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy*; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D017678:Sex Distribution; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult