Recombinant Erythropoietin In Patients In Chronic Dialysis Treatment

Is the nephrology community facilitating excess cardiovascular deaths in patients with kidney failure and anemia by treating to a subnormal hematocrit? Why have clinicians and nephrologists permitted health insurance companies and the government to decide when anemia therapy should begin in persons with progressive kidney failure? Is iron the only variable that can be manipulated to maximize response to recombinant erythropoietin? Are we using too much intravenous iron in kidney failure patients, and is oral iron supplementation worthless in sustaining iron stores during long-term erythropoietin treatment? When does left ventricular hypertrophy begin to emerge in patients with progressive renal disease and is there convincing evidence that anemia is a significant cause of LVH in this setting? Is darbepoetin alfa, a new novel, long-acting erythropoietin, really superior to recombinant erythropoietin? This book is a compilation of proceedings from a conference in Brooklyn convened to address these and other controversial and unresolved issues in renal anemia management.

Anemia is a frequent complication of cancer and its treatment. A number of clinical studies shows that the impact of anemia is much greater than previously thought. Beyond clinical symptoms, anemia significantly impairs physical and metabolic functions as well as patients' activity, well-being and quality of life. Life expectancy is also affected. In this book, written by a group of outstanding international experts, the current knowledge on anemia in cancer and its treatment with rhEPO is presented. Future developments are also discussed. Based on a broad spectrum of topics, the book describes the scientific and clinical aspects of anemia in various fields of oncology and gives diagnostic and therapeutic recommendations on when and how to use rhEPO.