Use of iron sucrose and red blood cell transfusions in anaemic cancer patients in France (OncoFer study)

• Published in: Supportive care in cancer Vol. 25; no. 3; pp. 973 - 982
• Main Authors: Luporsi, Elisabeth, Toledano, Alain, Spaeth, Dominique, Scotté, Florian, Espié, Marc, Perot, Stéphanie, Duvillié, Ladan, Pithois Merli, Isabelle, Bugat, Roland
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.03.2017; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Anemia - blood; Anemia - drug therapy; Anemia - therapy; Blood transfusions; Cancer; Cancer research; Erythrocyte Transfusion - methods; Erythrocytes; Female; Ferric Compounds - administration & dosage; Ferritins - metabolism; France; Glucaric Acid - administration & dosage; Health aspects; Hematologic Neoplasms - drug therapy; Hemoglobins; Hemoglobins - metabolism; Humans; Iron; Iron compounds; Male; Maltose - administration & dosage; Maltose - analogs & derivatives; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Middle Aged; Neoplasms - blood; Neoplasms - drug therapy; Nursing; Nursing Research; Oncology; Original Article; Pain Medicine; Rehabilitation Medicine; Retrospective Studies; Sucrose; France; RBC transfusion; Intravenous iron - Iron sucrose; Patients
• ISSN: 0941-4355; 1433-7339
• DOI: 10.1007/s00520-016-3489-3

Purpose This report describes the results of an observational, retrospective cohort study, evaluating the use of iron sucrose (IS) and red blood cell (RBC) transfusions in patients with cancer in routine clinical practice in France. A parallel investigated cohort treated with ferric carboxymaltose (FCM) has been reported earlier. Methods Data of patients with a solid tumour or haematological malignancy who have received IS or an RBC transfusion during 2010 from 3 months prior (M −3 ) to 3 months post first treatment (M +3 ) were analysed. Results Data from 46 patients who had received IS (400 mg median total iron dose) and 357 patients who had received RBC transfusions as first treatment (baseline) were included. Median haemoglobin levels improved from 9.9 g/dL (interquartile range 9.2; 11.0 g/dL) at baseline to 12.4 g/dL (11.4; 13.1 g/dL) at M +3 in IS-treated patients and from 8.2 g/dL (7.8; 8.8 g/dL) at baseline to 10.1 g/dL (8.8; 11.1 g/dL) in transfused patients. An erythropoiesis-stimulating agent was given to 54.3 and 28.9% of patients in the IS and the RBC transfusion groups, respectively, resulting in slightly better mean haemoglobin increase in both groups (2.4 vs 1.5 g/dL and 2.0 vs 1.6 g/dL, respectively). No severe nor serious adverse reaction and no hypersensitivity reactions were reported. Conclusion Both IS and RBC transfusions effectively increased Hb levels in patients with cancer. IS was safe and well tolerated in this population. Considering prior reported results with FCM, using FCM may reduce ESA dose requirements and the required number of infusions.