| The following article features coverage from the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2019. Click here to read more of Oncology Nurse Advisor‘s conference coverage. |
Intravenous ferric carboxymalotose (FCM) is a form of injectable iron that has been shown to be effective in treating anemia and preventing the need for blood transfusions. In a recent study, researchers evaluated the efficacy of intravenous FCM compared with physician’s choice of therapy in treating chemotherapy-induced anemia in patients with breast cancer.
The results of the study were recently presented at ESMO Congress 2019 in Barcelona, Spain. The study included a subset of 125 patients from the larger GeparOcto trial comparing 2 dose-dense, dose-intensified approaches for neoadjuvant breast cancer treatment. “This is the first study investigating IV iron treatment for dose-dense chemotherapy-induced anemia in breast cancer,” noted the researchers of the sub-study.
In the sub-study, patients with anemia grade 2 or higher (hemoglobin [Hb] <10 g/dl), transferrin saturation (TSAT) 20% or greater, and serum ferritin less than 300 ng/mL (amended to less than 600 ng/mL) were randomized into 2 groups. One group received FCM weekly, whereas the other group received physician’s choice of anemia treatment weekly. Physician’s choice treatment options included no treatment, oral iron, erythropoiesis-stimulating agent, or both.
Fewer than expected patients had chemotherapy-induced anemia. After six weeks, 22 patients from the FCM group and 18 patients from the physician’s choice group achieved Hb level of 11 g/dl or more. The median time to Hb levels of 211 g/dl or more was 9 weeks for the FCM group and 10.6 weeks for the physician’s choice group. Two patients in the FCM group and 5 patients in the physician’s choice group received blood transfusions until 6 weeks of therapy.
Overall, FCM treatment did not provide any added benefit compared with traditional physician choice in treating chemotherapy-induced anemia.
Reference
Tesch H, Loibl S, Kast K, et al. Chemotherapy (CT)-induced anaemia in patients (pts) treated with dose-dense regimen: results of the prospectively randomised anaemia substudy from the neoadjuvant GeparOcto study. Presented at: ESMO Congress 2019; September 27-October 1, 2019; Barcelona, Spain. Abstract 195P.
