Administration of epoetin alfa for anemia once every three weeks to cancer patients with anemia maintains acceptable hematocrits as well as weekly treatment, according to an article in the March 1 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

“We are constantly looking for ways to make treatments easier for patients,” said David Steensma, MD, Mayo Clinic oncologist and lead author of the study. “Sometimes this means finding ways to treat side effects. In this case we studied how to treat a side effect without sacrificing as much of the patient’s time and money.”

The American researchers studied 360 patients who were randomized to the standard protocol of 40,000 units of epoetin alfa once a week for 21 weeks or 40,000 units of epoetin alfa once a week for three weeks followed by 120,000 units of epoetin alfa once every three weeks for the remaining 18 weeks.

There was no statistical difference between groups in the proportion of patients requiring transfusions due to low hemoglobin. Side effects including thromboembolism and overall survival also were similar. Hemoglobin levels were slightly greater throughout the study for the patients enrolled in the weekly group, but those receiving treatment every three weeks still maintained a level that did not require transfusions. At the end of the study, patients in each group reported a similar quality of life.

While they found the results of this study promising, the researchers noted that a larger study must be done to more definitively show equivalence between the two therapies. Although this reduced frequency dosing schedule would be more convenient for patients, the researchers say that clinicians will have to decide whether the potentially lower hemoglobin levels are an acceptable trade-off.