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Management of anemia and iron deficiency in a cancer center in France

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Abstract

Purpose

Anemia affects most patients treated for cancer by chemotherapy. It is a known major contributor to fatigue and loss of quality of life and is likely to have a negative effect on prognosis and mortality from cancer. The main purpose of this study was to characterize the management of anemia and iron deficiency in a French oncology day-care center.

Methods

A retrospective study was conducted between May and November 2012 in the oncology day unit of the Jean Godinot Cancer Center (France). The 133 patients included were all over the age of 18 and being treated by chemotherapy and had mild, moderate, or severe anemia.

Results

Over half (58 %) the patients were shown to be receiving no specific treatment for anemia. Iron balance was assessed in 71 patients and iron deficiency diagnosed in 37. Stepwise logistic regression showed that patients with severe to moderate anemia were nearly four times more likely to have an iron balance assessment than those with mild anemia (OR, 3.78; 95 % CI, 1.84–7.76; P = 0.0003). Classical logistic regression shows that older patients (≥70) are three times less likely to have an iron balance assessment than patients <70 years (OR, 0.32; 95 % CI, 0.12–0.86; P = 0.06).

Conclusion

An ideal medical setting for the management of anemia and iron deficiency, and the associated quality-of-life concerns, has yet to be defined for patients with cancer. Screening and treatment of mild to moderate anemia are inadequate, despite the advent of erythropoiesis-stimulating agents. Large scale, multicenter studies are required to define a clear medical framework for the management of anemia and iron deficiency.

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Acknowledgments

Medical writing assistance was provided by Potentiel d’Action (France) and funded by Pierre Fabre Oncology.

Conflicts of interest

Florence Laï-Tiong, Cloé Brami and Olivier Dubroeucq have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Hervé Curé has received accommodation fees from the Pierre Fabre Foundation in 2013 and 2014.

Nicolas Jovenin has received honoraria from Pierre Fabre Oncologie, msd, Sanofi and Amgen. He has received consultancy fees from Eisai and Hospira.

Florian Scotté has received honoraria from Pierre Fabre Oncologie, Roche, Janssen, Sandoz, Hospira, Teva, and Vifor. He has received consultancy fees from AMGEN for his role as an advisory board member and for symposia presentations.

The authors declare that they had full control of all primary data and that they agree to the journal reviewing their data if requested.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Jean Godinot Unicancer Institute, 1 avenue du général Köenig, CS80014, 51726, Reims, France

    Florence Laï-Tiong, Cloé Brami, Olivier Dubroeucq, Hervé Curé & Nicolas Jovenin

  2. European Georges Pompidou Hospital, Paris, France

    Florian Scotté

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  1. Florence Laï-Tiong
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Correspondence to Florence Laï-Tiong.

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Laï-Tiong, F., Brami, C., Dubroeucq, O. et al. Management of anemia and iron deficiency in a cancer center in France. Support Care Cancer 24, 1091–1096 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-015-2877-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-015-2877-4

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