Epoetin alfa increases hemoglobin levels and improves quality of life in anemic geriatric cancer patients receiving chemotherapy

Goal: To evaluate epoetin alfa (EPO) treatment of anemia in geriatric cancer patients receiving chemotherapy, a retrospective subgroup analysis was conducted of anemic cancer patients >= 65 years of age from three 16-week community-based studies of thrice-weekly (TIW) or once-weekly (QW) EPO for chemotherapy-related anemia (CRA). Patients and methods: Analyses were conducted on the overall geriatric population (>= 65 years) and by age subgroup (65-74, 75-84, and >= 85 years), and compared with younger patients (<65 years) for each individual study and for pooled data. Main results: Some 3,634 geriatric patients were compared with 3,467 younger patients. From baseline to final measurement, EPO therapy significantly increased Hb by 2.0 g/dl in patients :65 years and 1.9 g/dl in patients <65 years (P<0.0001) and reduced transfusion utilization in both groups (P<0.006). Both age groups also had significant improvements in quality of life (QOL), measured by the 100-mm Linear Analog Assessment Scale (LASA). In younger patients, mean LASA changes were significantly greater than those in geriatric patients (P<0.05); however, QOL improvements in both age groups were clinically meaningful. There were no significant differences across geriatric age subgroups or between TIW and QW regimens for Hb change or QOL improvement. Overall hematopoietic response rate to EPO was 65.4% for patients >= 65 years and 64.7% for patients <65 years. Predictors of greater hematopoietic response (based on a pooled analysis) included lower body weight, baseline Hb, and baseline serum erythropoietin levels; better tumor response; and history of EPO dose reduction and longer time on study. Conclusions: Anemic geriatric patients receiving EPO for CRA responded comparably to younger patients <65 years and should be treated similarly.