For head and neck cancer patients suffering from mild to moderate anemia, receiving human hormone therapy in addition to radiation therapy does not improve survival rates, according to a Radiation Therapy Oncology Group study presented October 5, 2004, at the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology's 46th Annual Meeting in Atlanta.
Anemia has been associated with poor local control and lower survival rates for patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. Earlier studies have found that the human hormone erythropoietin helps raise hemoglobin levels in anemic patients receiving radiation therapy. This study set out to discover whether administering human erythropoietin would not only increase hemoglobin levels in anemic patients, but also improve cancer treatment response and control of the tumor.
Despite significantly improving hemoglobin levels in the 148 patients enrolled in the study, the addition of hormone therapy to radiation therapy failed to improve tumor control or survival rates. However, researchers did not find any statistically significant worsening of cancer outcomes in erythropoietin-treated patients, in contrast to a similar study published last year in The Lancet.
"We discovered that you can't simply correct anemia and think that it will magically improve outcomes for those suffering from head and neck cancers," said Mitchell Machtay, M.D., a radiation oncologist at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia and lead author of the study. "This study suggests that the whole relationship between cancer, blood counts and the amount of oxygen in the tumor is far more complex than once thought."
ASTRO is the largest radiation oncology society in the world, with more than 7,500 members who specialize in treating patients with radiation therapies. As a leading organization in radiation oncology, biology and physics, the Society is dedicated to the advancement of the practice of radiation oncology by promoting excellence in patient care, providing opportunities for educational and professional development, promoting research and disseminating research results and representing radiation oncology in a rapidly evolving socioeconomic healthcare environment.
RSS